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HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 


WHEN   THE   KING   CAME 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION 


WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

J>torie£  from  tf)e  four 

BY 

GEOKGE  HODGES 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

(£bc  Biljctsittc  press  Cambridge 


COPYRIGHT    1904.  BY   GEORGE   HODGES 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 

Published  October,  1904 


J3T 

30  a 


,      To 
MY  CHILDREN 


THIS  tells  how  once  the  King  of  Glory  came 
from  heaven  to  visit  us  here  on  earth  and 
live  amongst  us  ;  how  He  was  born  in  Beth- 
lehem and  brought  up  in  Nazareth;  how 
He  went  about  telling  people  of  the  Heavenly 
Kingdom,  and  doing  good,  ministering  to 
the  sick  and  the  poor ;  how  He  was  misun- 
derstood, and  disliked,  and  even  hated,  till 
at  last  they  took  Him  in  Jerusalem  and 
nailed  Him  to  a  cross  so  that  He  died; 
and  how,  after  that,  He  came  to  life  again, 
and  went  back  into  heaven,  promising  to 
return. 


CONTENTS 

FAOB 

I.  How  THE  KING  WAS  BORN  IN  A  STABLE,  AND 
WAS  BROUGHT  UP  AS  THE  SON  OF  A  CARPENTER, 
AND  LIVED  UNKNOWN  FOR  THIRTY  YEARS.  1 

1.  THE  YEAR  ONE 3 

2.  THE  HERALD  OF  THE  KING    ...  8 

3.  SHEPHERDS  AND  SINGING  ANGELS      .        .  15 

4.  THE  KING'S  NAME 22 

5.  THE  KING  is  TAKEN  TO  THE  TEMPLE        .  26 

6.  THE  VISIT  OF  THE  WISE  MEN       .        .  31 

7.  THE  CARPENTER'S  HOUSE  .        .        .        .40 

8.  AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE        ...  47 

II.     How  THE  KING  BECAME  CONSCIOUS  OF  HIS  KING- 
SHIP, HEARING  A  VOICE   OUT  OF  THE  SKY  ;   AND 

HOW  CERTAIN  FISHERMEN  BELIEVED  IN  HIM  AND 
FOLLOWED  HIM.  59 

1.  THE  HERALD  SPEAKS         .        .        .  .61 

2.  HEAVEN  AND  THE  RIVER        ...  68 

3.  THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS  .        .        .  .76 

4.  THE  TWELVE  FRIENDS   ....  85 

5.  THE  KING  GOES  TO  A  WEDDING  ,    93 


x  CONTENTS 

III.  How  THE  KING  WAS  DRIVEN  our  OF  THE  TOWN 
WHERE  HE  HAD  LIVED,  AND  WENT  ABOUT  THE 
LAND  OF  GALILEE,  WITH  HIS  DISCIPLES,  DOING 
GOOD  AND  TEACHING  THE  PEOPLE.  101 

1.  THE  KING  AMONG  HIS  NEIGHBORS    .        .  103 

2.  A  DAY  OF  THE  KING'S  LIFE          .        .      112 

3.  THE  BROKEN  ROOF 119 

4.  THE  POOL  OF  THE  ANGEL      .        .        .      127 
6.  THE  KING  STOPS  A  FUNERAL    .        .        .  134 

6.  THE  STILLING  OF  A  STORM    .        .  .      139 

7.  THE  WILD  MAN  OF  GERGESA    .        .  .  147 
I      8.  THE  MINISTER'S  LITTLE  DAUGHTER  .      154 
•     9.  THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT    .        .  .  160 

10.  THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES    .      166 

11.  THE  HERALD'S  HEAD         .        .        .        .175 

12.  TWELVE  BASKETS  OF  PIECES  .        .        .      182 

IV.  How  THE  KING  WAS  HATED  MORE  AND  MORE, 

AND  COULD  NOT  STAY  EVEN  IN  GALILEE  ;  HOW 
HE  WENT  AMONG  THE  HEATHEN,  AND  THEN  INTO 
THE  LAND  ACROSS  THE  JORDAN  ;  AND  HOW  AT 
LAST  HE  SET  HIS  FACE  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM.  191 

1.  WHY  THE  KING  WAS  HATED     .        .  .  193 

2.  IN  THE  LAND  OF  TYRE  AND  SIDON  .      201 

3.  WHAT  A  BLIND  MAN  SAW        .        .  .211 

4.  A  ROCK  FOR  A  CORNER-STONE       .  .      218 
6.  THE  KING  IN  HIS  BEAUTY         .        .  .  225 

6.  THE  LAD  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  HILL  .      232 

7.  THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN       ....  240 

8.  THE  PRODIGAL  SON  248 


CONTENTS  xi 

9.  THE  RICH  MAN  AND  THE  BEGGAR  .        .  257 

10.  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS  .        .  .      267 

11.  ON  THE  WAY  TO  JERUSALEM    .  .        .  277 

12.  IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO         .  .      286 

V.  How  THE  KING  CAME  TO  JERUSALEM,  AND  WAS 
BETRAYED  AND  CONDEMNED  AND  PUT  TO  DEATH 
UPON  THE  CROSS  ;  AND  HOW  HE  ROSE  AGAIN 
FROM  THE  DEAD  AND  ASCENDED  INTO  HEAVEN.  295 

1.  PALMS  AND  PSALMS 297 

2.  THREE  DAYS  OF  THE  HOLY  WEEK        .      304 

3.  PHARISEES  AND  SADDUCEES  AND  WEEDING 

GUESTS 310 

4.  THE  LAST  SUPPER 321 

5.  IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE     .        .  331 

6.  CHRIST  BEFORE  CAIAPHAS      .        .        .      340 

7.  CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE      ....  351 

8.  CRUCIFIED,  DEAD,  AND  BURIED     .        .      361 

9.  THE  EMPTY  TOMB 370 

10.  THE  KING  WALKS  WITH  Two  DISCIPLES     379 

11.  THE  VISION  OF  THE  SEVEN  FISHERMEN     387 

12.  THE  KING  RETURNS  TO  HEAVEN  .        .      394 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION  Raphael 

(page  230)  Frontispiece 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  SHEPHERDS       H.  LeRolle  18 

CHRIST  IN  THE  TEMPLE  H.  Hofmann  56 

CHRIST  AND  THE  FISHERMEN        E.  Zimmermann  88 

LETTING  DOWN  THE  SICK  MAN     Alexander  Bida  124 

JESUS   RAISING    THE    WlDOW   OF   NAIN'S   SON 

H.  Hofmann  136 

JAIRUS'  DAUGHTER  H.  Hofmann  156 

JESUS   AND   THE   WOMAN   OF   SAMARIA 

L.  Azambre  196 
JESUS  WITH  MARY  AND  MARTHA  AT  BETHANY 

H.  Hofmann  212 

THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  Rembrandt  246 

JESUS   AND  THE   RlCH    YOUNG   MAN 

H.  Hofmann  258 

THE  LAST  SUPPER  Leonardo  da  Vinci  326 

JESUS  BEFORE  PILATE  M.  Munkacsy  356 

JESUS  LEAVING  THE  PR^ETORiuM    Gustav  Dore  362 

GOLGOTHA  T.  S.  Gerome  366 

THE  SUPPER  AT  EMMAUS  S.  L'Hermitte  384 

(From  a  Copley  Print,  copyright  by  Curtis  &  Cameron) 


How  THE  KING  WAS  BORN  IN  A  STABLE, 

AND  WAS  BROUGHT  UP  AS  THE  SON  OF  A  CAR- 
PENTER, AND  LIVED  UNKNOWN  FOR  THIRTY 
YEARS. 


WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 


THE  YEAR  ONE 

/  3  3  3  * 
ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Year  One. 

Strangely  enough,  it  was  not  the  beginning  o£ 
the  years.  The  world  was  already  very  old : 
nobody  knows  how  old.  People  had  been 
living  on  the  earth,  time  out  of  mind,  in 
mighty  nations,  fighting  great  battles  and 
building  great  cities.  But  somehow,  every- 
thing seemed  to  begin  over  again  that  year, 
because  that  was  when  the  King  came.  And 
we  have  taken  it  ever  since  as  the  most 
important  of  all  dates.  When  we  say  that 
this  present  year  is  Nineteen-hundred-and- 
something,  we  mean  that  the  Year  One  was 
just  so  many  years  ago. 

It  is  always  to  be  remembered  about  that 
year  that  one  of  its  days  was  Christmas  Day. 

You  may  not  think  that  strange.   Christmas 


4  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

comes  so  regularly  every  year,  like  apples  in 
autumn  and  snow  in  winter,  that  it  seems  to 
belong  to  the  order  of  nature,  and  one  may 
easily  imagine  that  it  has  been  celebrated  al- 
ways, and  that  it  is  as  old  as  boys  and  girls. 
But  the  truth  is  that  there  was  never  any 
Christmas  till  the  Year  One. 

Year  after  year,  and  year  after  year,  the 
evergreen  trees  grew  in  the  woods  and  no- 
body came  to  get  them.  Nobody  thought  of 
lighting  them  up  with  candles  or  of  loading 
them  down  with  candies.  The  holly  showed 
its  berries  of  red  and  the  mistletoe  its  berries 
of  white,  and  nobody  paid  any  attention  to 
them :  except  perhaps  the  Druids,  whoever 
they  were,  and  they  had  never  heard  of 
Christmas.  The  twenty-fifth  day  of  December 
came  and  went,  like  the  twenty-second  and  the 
twenty-ninth  ;  and  boys  and  girls  were  born 
and  grew  up  into  men  and  women  with  never 
a  Christmas  carol  nor  a  Christmas  tree  nor  a 
Christmas  gift,  and  without  having  so  much  as 
heard  of  the  singing  angels  or  of  the  Holy 
Child ;  because  that  was  before  the  King  came. 


THE  YEAR  ONE  5 

Now,  in  the  Year  One,  there  lived  in  a 
quiet  little  place,  in  a  small  village  hidden 
among  hills,  a  young  girl  named  Mary.  I 
cannot  tell  you  how  old  she  was,  but  we  will 
guess  that  she  was  at  the  age  when  girlhood 
passes  into  womanhood.  Neither  can  I  tell 
you  how  she  looked,  or  whether  her  eyes  were 
brown  like  the  earth  or  blue  like  the  sky ;  but 
we  may  be  sure  that  she  had  a  sweet  face,  be- 
cause she  was  very  good  and  gentle,  and  had 
a  fair  and  sweet  soul. 

One  day,  Mary  was  sitting  alone  in  her 
room.  She  may  have  been  reading ;  for  we 
know  that  she  loved  to  read.  A  poem  which 
she  wrote,  called  the  Magnificat,  is  full  of  the 
memories  of  books.  Or,  she  may  have  been 
sewing  ;  for  she  was  presently  to  be  married, 
and  would  be  getting  ready  for  the  wedding. 
She  was  to  marry  a  neighbor,  the  village  car- 
penter, named  Joseph.  It  was  a  spring  morn- 
ing, and  the  flowers  were  in  blossom,  and  the 
birds  were  singing,  and  the  sun  was  shining. 
Thus  she  sat,  with  her  heart  full  of  beautiful 
thoughts,  when  of  a  sudden  such  a  gleam  of 


6  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

splendor  shone  about  her  that  it  seemed  as  if 
the  sun  had  been  under  a  thick  cloud  and 
had  just  come  out  and  begun  to  blaze  in  good 
earnest.  Mary  turned  to  see  where  this  new 
brightness  came  from;  and  there  beside  the 
door,  dressed  all  in  white,  stood  a  resplendent 
angel. 

The  angel  said,  "  Hail,  thou  that  art  highly 
favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee:  blessed  art 
thou  among  women."  And  Mary  was  afraid, 
and  began  to  tremble ;  so  that  the  angel 

said,  "  Fear  not,  Marv :  for  thou  hast  found 

'  ./ 

favor  with  God."  Then,  while  she  held  her 
breath  and  listened,  he  told  his  wonderful 
errand.  God  had  seen  the  sin  and  sorrow 
that  were  upon  the  earth,  He  had  heard  little 
children,  and  even  grown  men  and  women, 
fathers  and  mothers,  crying.  He  knew  how 
people  were  trying  to  be  good  and  making  a 
sad  failure  of  it  because  they  were  ignorant 
or  weak.  And  now  God  was  about  to  do 
what  He  had  long  promised :  He  was  to  come 
and  live  among  us.  God  had,  indeed,  lived 
among  men  always,  as  He  does  to-day :  always 


THE  YEAR  ONE  7 

and  everywhere  we  are  in  the  presence  of 
God.  But  now  he  was  to  make  himself 
known  in  a  new  way.  The  King  of  Glory 
was  to  take  our  human  nature  upon  him,  and 
become  a  man  like  us.  He  was  to  come,  not 
in  his  royal  robes  of  splendor,  not  in  the  gar- 
ments of  the  sunset,  not  with  his  holy  angels 
with  him,  but  as  a  little  child,  to  be  born  as 
we  are,  to  grow  as  we  grow,  and  thus  by  liv- 
ing our  life  to  teach  us  how  to  live.  And 
when  the  King  came  in  his  humility,  Mary 
was  to  be  his  mother. 

And  Mary  said,  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of 
the  Lord ;  be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy 
word."  Then  the  angel  departed  from  her. 
That  was  the  first  day  of  the  Year  One. 


n 

THE  HERALD  OF  THE  KING 

THE  King  had  long  been  expected.  Men  of 
God  in  the  Old  Testament  had  promised  that 
the  King  should  come.  They  had  also  pro- 
mised that  before  he  came,  somebody  should 
appear  to  tell  the  people  that  he  was  coming, 
and  to  prepare  his  way ;  for  that  was  the 
custom  when  kings  came.  Sometimes  the  road 
lay  over  wild  lands,  and  companies  of  men 
were  sent  to  make  it  smooth.  They  cut  down 
forests,  and  bridged  rivers,  and  even  leveled 
hills  and  filled  up  valleys.  All  this  they  did 
under  the  orders  of  the  king's  herald. 

One  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  Isaiah, 
had  said  that  when  the  King  of  Glory  came, 
such  a  herald  should  precede  him  with  such 
orders.  The  prophet,  in  his  vision,  heard  the 
herald's  voice  in  the  wilderness  :  "  Prepare  ye 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight. 
Every  valley  shah1  be  filled  and  every  moun- 
tain and  hill  shall  be  brought  low ;  and  the 


THE  HERALD  OF  THE   KING  9 

crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
ways  shall  be  made  smooth ;  and  all  flesh  shall 
see  the  salvation  of  God."  Another  prophet, 
Malachi,  had  said  that  the  road  to  be  made 
ready  for  the  King  was  not  laid  down  on  any 
map,  but  was  in  the  heart  of  man ;  where  the 
valleys  are  valleys  of  ignorance,  and  the  hills 
are  hills  of  pride,  and  the  rough  and  crooked 
ways  are  ways  of  sin.  Malachi  said  that  the 
King's  herald  would  be  like  the  prophet 
Elijah  :  "  He  shall  go  before  him  in  the  spirit 
and  power  of  Elijah,  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the 
fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  disobedient  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  just,  to  make  ready  a  people 
prepared  for  the  Lord." 

At  last,  one  day,  just  before  the  beginning 
of  the  Year  One,  a  strange  thing  happened  to 
a  priest  in  the  temple.  The  priest  was  a  very 
good  old  man  named  Zacharias.  He  lived 
with  his  good  old  wife,  Elisabeth,  in  a  quiet 
little  place  among  the  hills,  where  they  were 
much  respected  and  loved  by  all  their  neigh- 
bors. The  old  people  liked  the  quiet  of  the 
village,  but  they  were  much  troubled  by  the 


10  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

quiet  of  their  own  home ;  for  every  day,  from 
morning  to  night,  no  sound  was  there  but 
the  sound  of  their  own  gentle  voices.  Many 
times  they  had  prayed  to  God  to  send  them 
a  little  baby,  but  then-  prayers  had  not  been 
answered. 

Now  the  time  came  when  it  was  the  turn  of 
Zacharias  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  take  his  part, 
with  other  ministers,  in  the  temple  service. 
Services  were  going  on  every  day  in  the 
year,  but  there  were  so  many  ministers  that 
they  had  to  take  turns.  And  even  when  a 
new  company  came  week  by  week,  they  had 
to  draw  lots  to  divide  the  service,  one  to  do 
this,  another  to  do  that.  This  time  it  so  hap- 
pened at  the  drawing  of  lots  that  Zacharias 
was  chosen  to  burn  the  incense.  That  was 
a  great  honor  which  came  only  once  in  a 
man's  life. 

So  Zacharias  went  in  to  burn  incense.  One 
part  of  the  temple  was  called  the  Holy  of 
Holies  :  and  nobody  ever  went  into  it  except 
the  high  priest,  once  a  year.  Just  outside  the 
Holy  of  Holies  was  the  Holy  Place.  The 


THE  HERALD  OF  THE  KING  11 

doors  which  led  into  it  were  covered  with 
gold,  and  against  them  hung  a  heavy  curtain 
colored  white  and  blue  and  scarlet  and  pur- 
ple. Inside,  there  stood  on  the  right  a  table 
and  on  the  left  a  great  candlestick  having 
seven  branches,  and  beside  the  candlestick 
was  the  altar  of  incense  overlaid  with  gold. 
Two  men  went  in  with  Zacharias,  one  carry- 
ing a  golden  bowl  full  of  incense,  and  the 
other  a  golden  bowl  full  of  burning  coals. 
These  they  put  on  the  altar  and  went  out, 
leaving  Zacharias  alone.  Outside  were  all  the 
other  priests  and  many  people  in  great  silence 
praying.  Zacharias  was  to  take  the  incense 
and  sprinkle  it  on  the  burning  coals  so  as  to 
make  a  thick  fragrant  smoke.  "  And  the 
smoke  of  the  incense,  with  the  prayers  of 
the  saints,  ascended  up  before  God." 

Then  it  was  that  the  strange  thing  hap- 
pened ;  for  as  this  white-haired  old  man  cast 
the  incense  on  the  coals  and  the  place  was 
filled  with  smoke,  suddenly  he  saw  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  standing  beside  him.  And  when 
Zacharias  saw  him,  he  was  troubled  and  fear 


12  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

fell  upon  him.  But  the  angel  said,  "Fear 
not,  Zacharias  :  for  thy  prayer  is  heard  ;  and 
thy  wife  Elisabeth  shall  bear  thee  a  son,  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  John.  And  thou  shalt 
have  joy  and  gladness ;  and  many  shall  re- 
joice at  his  birth.  And  he  shall  go  before  the 
Lord."  That  is,  the  child,  thus  to  be  born, 
should  be  the  herald  of  the  King. 

You  remember  how  Mary  answered  the 
angel.  She  said,  "  Be  it  unto  me  according  to 
thy  word."  But  she  was  young,  and  it  was 
easy  for  her  to  believe  in  wonders.  Zacharias, 
in  his  long  experience,  had  learned  that  life 
is  governed  by  great,  universal  laws.  One  of 
these  laws  is  that  little  babies  are  not  given 
to  old  people.  And  that  was  the  first  thought 
which  came  into  his  mind.  "  I  am  an  old 
man,"  he  said,  "  and  my  wife  well  stricken  in 
years."  Indeed,  they  were  now  such  aged 
folk  that  they  had  given  up  expecting  that 
their  prayer  would  be  heard.  But  the  angel 
answered,  "  You  do  not  know  who  I  am.  My 
name  is  Gabriel.  I  come  to  you  straight  from 
God.  He  has  sent  me  to  tell  you  these  glad 


THE  HERALD  OF  THE  KING  13 

tidings.  And  now  because  you  do  not  believe, 
you  shall  be  dumb  and  not  able  to  speak  until 
this  comes  to  pass."  So  he  vanished  out  of 
sight. 

Meanwhile,  the  people  in  great  silence  wait- 
ing without  were  wondering  why  Zacharias 
stayed  so  long  in  the  Holy  Place.  And  when 
he  came  out,  and  held  up  his  hands  in  bless- 
ing but  was  speechless,  and  could  only  make 
signs  to  them,  touching  his  lips  and  point- 
ing to  the  sky,  they  knew  that  he  had  seen  a 
vision.  So  he  did  the  duties  of  the  day  and 
then  went  home  to  tell  the  great  news  to  his 
wife. 

And  by  and  by,  that  which  the  angel  had 
promised  was  fulfilled.  The  little  boy  came 
into  the  quiet  house  of  Zacharias  and  Elisa- 
beth. And  when  he  was  eight  days  old,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom,  he  must  be  named. 
All  their  neighbors  and  cousins  were  glad 
that  God  had  heard  their  prayer,  and  on 
that  day  they  came  together  to  rejoice  with 
the  happy  father  and  mother.  And  they  said, 
"  Of  course,  the  baby  will  be  named  Zacharias, 


14  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

after  the  name  of  his  father."  "Not  so," 
said  Elisabeth,  "  but  he  shall  be  called  John." 
"  Why,"  the  neighbors  and  the  cousins  said, 
"  there  is  none  of  thy  kindred  that  is  called  by 
this  name.  There  is  not  another  John  in  the 
whole  family."  And  they  asked  Zacharias, 
making  signs  to  him,  for  he  seems  to  have 
been  deaf  as  well  as  dumb.  And  he  took  a 
slate  and  wrote  a  sentence  on  it,  as  they 
crowded  about  to  see ;  and  the  sentence  was, 
"  His  name  is  John."  And  at  that  moment  his 
speech  came  back,  and  his  mouth  was  opened 
immediately,  and  his  tongue  was  loosed,  and 
he  spake  and  praised  God.  And  all  who  were 
in  the  house  were  filled  with  fear  and  won- 
der, and  when  they  came  out  they  spoke  to 
everybody  whom  they  met,  saying,  "  Have 
you  heard  what  has  happened  in  the  house  of 
Zacharias  ?  What  manner  of  child  shall  this 
be  ?  "  But  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth  knew  what 
he  should  be.  They  knew  that  the  child  John 
should  be  the  prophet  of  the  Highest,  the 
herald  of  the  King. 


m 

SHEPHERDS  AN£>  SINGING  ANGELS 

MONTHS  passed  after  these  angelic  visits.  The 
green  of  spring  deepened  into  the  green  of 
summer,  and  lilies  grew  in  the  fields,  and  the 
fruits  ripened  and  were  gathered  into  barns, 
and  the  cold  nights  came  on.  And  one  night 
there  were  shepherds  in  a  pasture  close  by  the 
town  of  Bethlehem,  watching  their  flocks. 

We  seldom  see  shepherds  in  this  country. 
The  men  with  sticks  who  drive  sheep  through 
the  streets  are  not  true  shepherds.  Shepherds 
never  drive  sheep :  they  go  before  and  call 
them,  and  the  sheep  know  the  shepherd's 
voice  and  follow  him.  While  the  flocks  are 
in  the  fields,  the  shepherds  stay  among  them  to 
keep  them  from  straying  off  and  getting  lost, 
and  to  protect  them  from  wolves  and  bears  in 
places  where  such  wild  animals  are  found. 

There  are  countries  where  the  grass  is  green 
all  the  year  round,  and  where  almost  the  only 
snow  which  the  people  see  is  on  the  tops  of 


16  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

the  mountains.  In  such  countries  the  sheep 
can  feed  in  the  fields  even  in  the  winter. 

In  the  old  time  —  in  the  Year  One  —  peo- 
ple when  they  went  to  church  on  great  holy 
days  carried  little  lambs  with  them.  That 
would  seem  queer  nowadays.  Imagine  a 
church  where  everybody  had  a  lamb  under 
his  arm  instead  of  a  prayer-book  !  I  am  afraid 
that  most  small  boys,  and  even  some  small 
girls,  would  find  it  hard  to  sit  perfectly  still 
in  a  church  full  of  frisky  little  woolly  lambs. 
But  in  those  days  they  were  used  to  it,  and 
did  riot  mind  it.  The  people  brought  the 
lambs  to  give  to  God.  And  they  brought  the 
very  best  lambs,  because  they  wished  to  give 
God  the  very  best  they  had.  Some  of  the 
lambs  came  from  these  Bethlehem  pastures : 
and  they  who  took  care  of  the  church  lambs 
would  be  good  shepherds,  gentle  and  kind 
men. 

So  it  was  in  the  winter  night,  and  the  stars 
were  shining  and  all  was  still,  and  in  the  fields 
the  flocks  were  sleeping  while  the  shepherds 
watched.  We  may  guess  that,  as  they  watched, 


SHEPHERDS  AND  SINGING  ANGELS    17 

they  talked  together  and  told  one  another 
stories ;  especially  about  David,  who,  when  he 
was  a  boy,  had  lived  at  Bethlehem  and  had 
lain  out  many  a  frosty  night  in  that  very  pas- 
ture with  his  sheep,  and  once  had  killed  a  lion 
and  a  bear.  The  lion  and  the  bear  had  come 
to  get  the  sheep,  and  young  David  had  fought 
with  them  and  killed  them.  And  they  sang 
the -Shepherd's  Psalm,  "  The  Lord  is  my  shep- 
herd." And  they  spoke  of  the  King  of  Glory, 
how  he  would  sometime  come,  according  to  the 
promise ;  and  they  wondered  how  he  would 
look,  and  what  he  would  do  when  he  came. 
And  they  said,  "  When  he  comes  he  will  be 
seen  here  in  Bethlehem."  For  that  was  writ- 
ten in  the  Bible. 

Then,  as  they  watched  and  talked  and 
sang,  suddenly  something  happened. 

All  at  once  a  great  and  wonderful  light 
began  to  shine,  brighter  and  brighter,  in  the 
black  sky,  till  the  night  was  like  the  day.  All 
the  clouds  came  out  in  the  splendid  garments 
which  they  wear  in  the  early  morning  and  in 
the  late  afternoon.  And  out  of  the  central 


18  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

shining  appeared  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  gleam- 
ing like  a  flame  of  fire.  The  shepherds  fell 
upon  their  faces,  not  daring  to  look  up,  hardly 
daring  to  listen  or  to  breathe,  while  the  angel 
spoke.  "  Fear  not,"  he  said,  "  for,  behold,  I 
bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which 
shall  be  to  all  people.  The  King  has  come ! 
To-night  he  is  born,  yonder  in  Bethlehem. 
There  shall  you  find  him,  sleeping  in  a 
manger." 

And  then  the  sky  grew  brighter  still,  as  if 
behind  the  clouds  the  gates  of  heaven  itself 
were  swinging  open,  and  out  there  came  an- 
gels upon  angels,  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly 
host,  shining  and  singing.  This  is  what  they 
sang :  — 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
And  on  earth  peace, 
Good  will  toward  men  !  " 

Then  the  chorus  ceased,  and  the  choir  went 
back  into  heaven,  shutting  the  golden  gates 
behind  them ;  and  the  night  was  dark  and 
still  again,  and  the  shepherds  were  alone.  So 
up  they  leaped,  crying  one  to  another  with 


SHEPHERDS  AND  SINGING  ANGELS     19 

great  joy,  "  Let  us  go  to  Bethlehem  and  see  ! 
Let  us  find  the  King  !  "  And  off  they  went, 
down  the  frosty  road,  their  eager  feet  making 
a  great  noise  in  the  silent  night  and  their 
breath  white  behind  them. 

Now,  all  that  day,  travelers  had  been  jour- 
neying in  unusual  numbers  along  the  ways 
which  led  to  Bethlehem,  for  it  was  the  time 
of  a  census.  Caesar  Augustus,  emperor  of 
Rome,  wished  to  know  how  many  people  were 
living  in  that  part  of  the  country,  so  that  he 
could  make  them  all  pay  taxes.  Every  man 
had  to  go  to  his  own  city;  that  is,  to  the 
place  in  which  his  family  belonged.  So  there 
was  a  great  stir  all  about  the  land,  with  men 
going  to  this  place  and  to  that  to  have  their 
names  written  in  the  census-books.  Among 
the  others,  out  of  Nazareth  came  Joseph  the 
carpenter,  because  he  was  of  the  family  of 
David,  and  with  him  Mary,  his  espoused  wife, 
who  was  to  be  the  mother  of  the  King.  Down 
they  came  like  other  poor  folk,  over  hill  and 
dale,  till  they  arrived  at  Bethlehem.  But 


20  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

when  they  reached  the  town  there  was  no 
place  where  they  might  stay.  Every  house 
was  full  of  guests,  and  the  inn  was  already 
crowded.  The  only  shelter  was  a  stable,  —  a 
common  stable,  strewn  with  hay,  with  dusty 
cobwebs  hanging  from  the  rafters,  and  occu- 
pied by  cows  and  donkeys.  There,  accord- 
ingly, they  went. 

And  there,  while  the  angels  sang  and  the 
sky  blazed  over  the  pastures  of  the  sheep, 
the  King  came.  The  King  of  Glory  came! 
The  mighty  God,  the  Maker  of  all  things,  the 
Lord  most  high,  came  to  dwell  among  us. 
And  behold,  he  was  a  little  child.  And  Mary 
wrapped  him  warm  in  swaddling  clothes,  as 
the  way  is  with  babies,  and  laid  him  in  the 
manger. 

There  the  shepherds,  all  out  of  breath  with 
running,  found  them,  —  Mary  and  Joseph,  and 
the  babe  lying  in  a  manger.  And  they  told 
what  they  had  seen  and  heard  about  the  sing- 
ing angels  and  the  King  of  Glory,  while  Mary 
listened,  remembering  the  angel  who  had  ap- 
peared to  her.  So  the  shepherds  returned, 


SHEPHERDS  AND  SINGING  ANGELS      21 

glorifying  and  praising  God  for  all  the  won- 
ders of  that  night.  1  Thus  was  kept  the  first 
Christmas,  with  carols  by  the  choir  of  heaven, 
and  God's  own  Son,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
coming  as  a  Christmas  gift  for  all  mankind. 


IV 
THE  KING'S  NAME 

A  WEEK  went  by  after  the  night  when  the 
King  came,  and  the  day  arrived  when  he 
should  be  given  a  gift  which  he  would  keep  all 
the  rest  of  his  life.  You  know  what  I  mean. 
Many  gifts  are  given  to  little  new  babies,  some 
of  which  they  play  with  till  they  are  torn  or 
broken  all  to  pieces ;  a  few,  like  spoons  and 
cups,  last  a  long  time ;  but  this  gift  lasts  al- 
ways, and  the  child  carries  it  with  him  wher- 
ever he  goes,  even  when  he  becomes  a  man ; 
and  never  loses  it,  no  matter  what  may  happen 
to  him.  This  gift  is  his  name. 

The  naming  of  a  child  is  therefore  a  matter 
of  such  importance  that  people  may  properly 
make  a  great  occasion  of  it.  In  those  days  it 
was  the  custom  to  pray  God  to  bless  the  child, 
much  as  we  do  now  at  baptism.  The  neighbors 
and  the  cousins  came  together,  as  they  did  at 
the  naming  of  little  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias 
and  Elisabeth,  and  there  was  much  rejoicing. 


THE  KING'S  NAME  23 

It  was  time,  then,  to  name  the  King,  who 
had  been  laid  in  the  manger ;  though  he  lay 
no  longer  in  the  manger.  They  had,  no  doubt, 
found  a  better  lodging  for  him.  Far  from 
home  as  they  were,  there  would  be  some  in- 
terested neighbors  to  come  in.  The  shepherds 
would  be  there.  And  for  cousins,  it  is  quite 
likely  that  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth  came, 
bringing  their  little  boy,  the  King's  herald, 
now  six  months  old.  There  was  no  question 
as  to  the  name ;  no  need  to  decide  between 
this  good  name  and  that.  The  angel  had  told 
Mary  at  the  beginning  what  the  child  should 
be  called ;  saying,  "  Thou  shalt  call  his  name 
Jesus." 

Now,  Jesus  was  a  very  common  name.  One 
would  think  that  a  name  which  came  straight 
from  heaven,  brought  by  an  angel,  would  be 
uncommonly  beautiful ;  or  at  least  quite  new, 
such  as  no  mortal  had  borne  since  the  world 
began.  For  example,  as  St.  Matthew  suggests, 
the  King  might  have  been  called  Emmanuel, 
which  means  God  with  us.  But  the  fact  is  that 
there  were  other  children  by  the  name  of  Jesus. 


24  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

It  was  a  plain,  ordinary  name,  like  John  or 
James. 

The  reason  why  it  was  so  common  is  that  it 
had  been  the  name  of  a  celebrated  general ;  as 
boys  are  sometimes  called  now  after  the  heroes 
of  the  wars.  This  general  is  known  to  us  un- 
der the  name  of  Joshua.  You  remember  about 
him :  how  he  led  the  army  of  Israel  into  the 
Promised  Land,  and  drove  out  the  people  who 
lived  there,  fighting  brave  battles  and  settling 
the  country,  like  William  the  Conqueror.  There 
were  two  ways  of  spelling  his  name.  Some- 
times they  spelled  it  J-o-s-h-u-a,  and  sometimes 
they  spelled  it  J-e-s-u-s.  Thus  it  is  spelled 
once  in  the  second  way  in  the  eighth  verse  of 
the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews. One  was  the  Hebrew  spelling,  the  other 
was  the  Greek :  that  is  the  only  difference. 

For  the  King  had  come  to  be  like  us,  and 
to  live  the  same  life  which  we  live.  He  did 
not  wish  to  take  a  strange  name,  nor  even  a 
royal  name,  different  from  us. 

And  Joshua  was  a  good  man  to  be  named 
for;  because  the  King  had  come  to  fight 


THE  KING'S  NAME  25 

hard  battles  and  to  lead  us  against  strong 
enemies  and  finally  to  settle  us  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven.  You  know  that  when  little 
children  are  baptized,  and  the  minister  says, 
"  Name  this  child,"  and  the  child  is  given  a 
name,  then  the  minister  says,  "  We  receive 
this  child  into  the  congregation  of  Christ's 
flock ;  and  do  sign  him  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  in  token  that  hereafter  he  shall  not  be 
ashamed  to  confess  the  faith  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied, and  manfully  to  fight  under  his  banner 
against  sin,  the  world  and  the  devil ;  and  to 
continue  Christ's  faithful  soldier  unto  his  life's 
end."  Thus  we  are  all  soldiers,  striving  for 
the  right. 

Moreover,  the  name  Jesus  means  Saviour. 
It  stands  for  the  whole  purpose  for  which  the 
King  came,  —  to  save  us  from  our  sins. 


V 

THE  KING  IS  TAKEN  TO  THE  TEMPLE 

THE  next  thing  which  happened  in  the  child's 
life  took  place  when  he  was  a  little  more  than 
a  month  old.  One  day,  when  the  frost  was 
out  of  the  air  and  the  winter  had  begun  to 
change  into  the  mildness  of  spring,  his  father 
and  mother  wrapped  him  up,  and  took  him 
for  a  journey.  It  was  his  first  sight  of  the 
world.  Where  do  you  suppose  they  carried 
him  ?  Six  miles  they  went,  over  hill  and  dale, 
from  the  little  town  to  the  big  one,  from 
Bethlehem  to  Jerusalem.  They  could  see  the 
city  a  long  way  off,  for  it  stood  on  a  moun- 
tain. And  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  with  its 
roof  overtopping  all  the  others,  shining  in  the 
sun,  was  the  splendid  church,  the  holy  temple. 
Joseph  and  Mary  watched  it  from  afar  as  they 
made  their  way  along  the  country  road,  not 
only  because  it  was  bright  and  beautiful,  but 
because  it  was  the  end  of  their  journey.  That 
was  their  errand,  to  take  the  child  to  church. 


THE  KING  TAKEN  TO  THE  TEMPLE     27 

There  was  service  every  day  in  the  temple ; 
and  as  Joseph  and  Mary  passed  along  the  city 
streets,  climbing  higher  towards  the  sacred 
place,  they  saw  many  other  people  who  were 
going  in  the  same  direction.  Some  of  them 
were  carrying  little  babies  in  their  arms ;  for 
it  was  the  custom  to  bring  every  first-born 
child  to  present  him  to  the  Lord.  The  child 
was  brought  to  church,  and  the  minister,  in 
the  name  of  God,  received  him  with  prayer, 
and  then  gave  him  back  again  to  his  father 
and  mother.  It  was  a  solemn  and  beautiful 
way  of  saying,  "  All  of  these  little  children 
belong  to  God,  our  heavenly  Father ;  and 
they  are  to  be  brought  up  and  cared  for  and 
trained  and  taught  as  the  children  of  God." 
Then  followed  a  special  service  for  the  mother. 
The  mother  brought  an  offering,  which,  if 
she  were  poor,  consisted  of  a  pair  of  turtle- 
doves or  two  young  pigeons.  The  service 
began  with  the  burning  of  incense  on  the 
golden  altar,  in  the  Holy  Place,  as  on  the  day 
when  Zacharias  saw  the  angel.  After  that, 
before  the  door  of  the  Holy  Place,  on  a  great 


28  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

altar  made  of  stone,  the  sacrifices  were  offered, 
while  those  who  brought  them  stood  close  by, 
praying  and  praising  God.  The  child's  part 
of  the  service  was  called  the  Presentation  ;  the 
mother's  part  was  called  the  Purification. 

So  it  was  that  day.  The  child  was  presented 
to  the  Lord,  and  the  mother's  offering  was 
duly  made,  and  the  service  was  over.  Now 
there  was  an  old  man  in  Jerusalem,  whose  name 
was  Simeon.  He  was  a  very  good  and  holy 
man,  and,  like  many  others,  was  wondering 
when  the  King  would  come.  Simeon  did  not 
know  that  the  King  had  come  already ;  but  he 
was  sure  that  he  must  soon  appear,  for  he  had 
had  a  wonderful  dream,  and  in  the  dream  God 
had  spoken  to  him,  and  had  promised  that  be- 
fore he  died  his  eyes  should  behold  the  King 
of  Glory.  And  since  it  was  written  in  the  Old 
Testament  that  the  Lord  should  appear  in  the 
temple,  Simeon  was  all  the  time  expecting  him 
at  the  daily  services.  Every  day,  as  he  climbed 
the  temple  hill,  he  said  to  himself,  "  The  King 
may  come  to-day."  Perhaps  he  thought  that 
the  sky  would  suddenly  open,  and  there  would 


THE  KING  TAKEN  TO  THE  TEMPLE     29 

be  a  great  light,  brighter  than  the  sun,  and 
out  of  heaven  the  King  of  Glory  would  come 
down. 

But  this  morning,  as  he  came  into  the  tem- 
ple, praying  in  his  heart  that  his  great  desire 
might  that  day  be  granted,  he  heard  the  voice 
of  a  little  child.  And  when  he  looked,  there 
was  a  baby  in  its  mother's  arms.  And  as  he 
looked  again,  for  the  child  was  very  beautiful, 
a  strange  feeling  came  over  him.  It  seemed 
as  if  God  were  speaking  in  his  heart  again,  as 
He  had  spoken  in  his  dream,  and  telling  him 
that  here  at  last  was  the  answer  to  his  prayer. 
He  stopped  and  took  the  child  up  in  his  arms 
and  blessed  God.  And  he  said,  "  I  have  seen 
the  King  of  Glory.  Now  let  me  die  in  peace, 
for  mine  eyes  have  beheld  him  who  shall  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world."  And  while  Joseph 
and  Mary  marveled  at  the  old  man's  words, 
he  gave  them  his  blessing,  and  said,  "  Behold, 
this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be 
spoken  against." 

Then  came  an  aged  woman,  a  widow,  whose 


30  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

name  was  Anna.  She  was  eighty-four  years 
old,  and  all  her  time  for  many,  many  years 
had  been  spent  in  the  temple.  She  was  a 
prophetess ;  that  is,  her  eyes  were  wonderfully 
opened  to  see  the  will  of  God.  And  she  gave 
thanks  to  God  when  she  saw  the  child,  and 
spoke  of  him  to  all  her  friends. 

So  the  parents  went  out  of  the  temple  with 
the  child  who  had  been  thus  strangely  wel- 
comed, and  carried  him  back  over  the  country 
road. 


VI 
THE  VISIT  OF  THE   WISE  MEN 

THEN  the  child  grew  and  grew,  as  other  little 
children  grow ;  and  for  a  good  while  nothing 
happened  except  just  the  ordinary  things. 
But  one  day,  there  came  to  the  door  some 
very  extraordinary  visitors. 

Nobody  knows  how  old  the  child  was  when 
they  came.  Indeed,  St.  Luke,  who  was  much 
interested  in  the  beautiful  stories  of  our  Lord's 
childhood,  knew  nothing  about  them.  So  far 
as  he  had  learned,  Joseph  and  Mary  went  back 
to  Nazareth  after  the  presentation  in  the  tem- 
ple, carrying  the  child  with  them.  But  St. 
Matthew  had  heard  about  the  Wise  Men.  One 
would  think,  to  read  the  story  in  St.  Matthew's 
Gospel,  that  our  Lord  was  as  much  as  two 
years  old  when  the  Wise  Men  came.  In  that 
case,  it  was  at  Bethlehem  that  he  learned  to 
walk  and  to  talk,  and  began  to  say  his  prayers, 
and  to  learn  by  heart  some  of  the  holy  words 
of  the  Bible. 


32  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Meanwhile,  away  in  the  east,  nobody  knows 
where,  men  were  watching  the  sky.  They 
lived  out  of  doors  in  those  countries  much 
more  than  we  do,  and  the  clouds  and  the  stars 
were  of  great  interest  to  them.  Every  night 
they  looked  to  see  the  constellations  rise  and 
set ;  and  when  a  comet  blazed  across  the  hea- 
vens, they  were  filled  with  wonder.  They  did 
not  know  that  the  stars  were  other  worlds. 
They  thought  that  they  were^  shining  jewels 
set  in  the  blue  roof  of  the  sky.  They  imagined 
that  they  formed  mysterious  sentences,  which 
one  might  read  did  he  but  know  that  celestial 
language,  and  thus  learn  the  story  of  the  earth, 
both  past  and  future.  Especially,  they  con- 
nected the  great  stars  with  the  great  kings ; 
and  one  of  their  number,  a  magician  named 
Balaam,  had  one  day,  in  a  vision,  cried,  "  I  see 
a  star  and  a  king ! "  meaning  a  king  of  the 
Jews. 

These  men  were  called  Wise  Men.  They 
were  very  well  acquainted  with  the  sky,  and 
knew  the  stars  by  name.  And  one  night  as 
they  gazed,  according  to  their  custom,  at  the 


THE  VISIT  OF  THE  WISE  MEN        33 

lights  overhead,  behold,  there  was  a  new  star 
which  none  of  them  had  seen  before.  There 
it  shone,  brighter  than  any  of  the  others,  low 
down  in  the  western  sky.  And  the  men  said, 
"  There  is  the  star,  and  in  that  direction,  to- 
wards the  west,  is  the  land  of  the  Jews.  There 
is  a  king  born  !  Let  us  go  and  see  him." 

So  they  started  on  their  long  journey.  Some 
say  that  they  were  as  great  as  they  were  wise  ; 
that  they  were  kings ;  that  there  were  three 
of  them,  —  an  old  man  named  Caspar,  and  a 
middle-aged  man  named  Melchior,  and  a  young 
man  named  Balthaser ;  that  they  rode  on 
camels  and  had  a  train  of  servants  with  them. 
Indeed,  we  may  imagine  whatever  we  please  ; 
for  nobody  knows  anything  about  it. 

On  they  came,  then,  over  the  hard  wild  ways 
which  lead  from  the  east  to  the  west,  till  at 
last  they  reached  Jerusalem  ;  and  there  they 
stopped  to  ask  their  way.  "  Where  is  he," 
they  said,  "  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ? 
for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are 
come  to  worship  him."  But  the  people  knew 
of  only  one  king  of  the  Jews,  and  his  name 


34         .      WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

was  Herod ;  and  he  had  been  born  so  long  ago 
that  even  now  he  was  approaching  the  end  of 
his  bad  life.  That  was  not  the  king  for  whom 
they  were  looking.  No  :  there  was  a  new  king, 
a  little  child.  So  they  went  about  asking  peo- 
ple in  the  streets,  and  the  news  spread,  —  the 
news  of  the  appearance  of  these  strange  visit- 
ors and  of  the  strange  question  which  they 
asked.  People  said  one  to  another,  "  Have 
you  seen  those  three  dark-faced  pilgrims  out  of 
the  far  east  ?  Have  you  heard  what  they  are 
saying  ?  "  And  men  began  to  be  afraid.  They 
said,  "  Now  there  will  be  war.  The  two  kings 
will  fight  for  the  crown." 

Presently,  King  Herod  heard  what  was  hap- 
pening in  the  city,  and  he  too  was  troubled. 
The  thought  came  into  his  heart  that  this  new 
king  might  perhaps  be  the  King  of  Glory. 
He  knew  that  the  people  were  waiting  for  a 
king,  and  that  promises  of  his  coming  were 
written  in  the  Bible.  Herod  was  not  a  reader 
of  the  Bible,  and  he  had  no  idea  that  the 
King  of  Glory  was  to  come  from  heaven. 
All  that  he  had  in  his  mind  was  a  vague  know 


THE  VISIT  OF  THE  WISE  MEN          35 

ledge  that  a  great  king  was  expected,  and  a 
clear  conviction  that  when  the  king  came 
there  would  be  no  more  use  for  Herod ;  and 
he  immediately  determined  that  he  would  find 
the  new  king,  if  he  could,  and  kill  him  in  his 
cradle. 

So  he  called  the  ministers  together,  and 
when  they  came  he  said,  "  Where  is  it  that 
that  king,  of  whom  the  Bible  speaks,  will  be 
born,  when  he  comes  ?  "  And  the  ministers 
looked  into  the  Bible,  and  there  it  was,  written 
down  in  black  and  white  long,  long  before, 
that  the  King  of  Glory  should  be  born  in 
Bethlehem.  "  And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the 
land  of  Juda,  art  not  the  least  among  the 
princes  of  Juda ;  for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a 
Governor,  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel." 

Then  Herod  called  the  Wise  Men  privately, 
and  they  came  to  meet  him  in  his  palace,  and 
he  asked  them  many  questions.  He  seemed 
particularly  anxious  to  find  out  just  how  long 
ago  it  was  when  the  star  appeared.  And  the 
Wise  Men,  who  were  better  acquainted  with 
stars  than  they  were  with  kings,  answered 


36  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

him  in  all  simplicity.  And  the  king  said, 
"  You  are  to  go  to  Bethlehem.  Go,  and  search 
diligently  for  the  young  child  ;  and  when  ye 
have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again,  that 
I  may  come  and  worship  him  also."  That  is 
what  he  said,  —  the  bad  king,  who  meant  to 
kill  him. 

Away  they  went,  then,  out  of  the  king's 
palace,  and  made  their  way  towards  Bethle- 
hem. And  as  they  went,  behold,  they  saw  the 
strange  star,  shining  again  in  the  night  sky, 
as  they  had  seen  it  in  their  own  land.  And 
they  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great  joy.  The 
star  seemed  to  go  before  them,  leading  them, 
and  at  last  to  stand  still  over  the  little  village. 
And  under  the  star  was  a  house ;  and  in  the 
house,  the  King  ! 

The  house  did  not  look  much  like  a  palace. 
Joseph  was  a  carpenter,  having  nothing  to 
live  on  but  his  daily  wages.  He  could  afford 
only  the  humblest  lodgings.  Neither  did  the 
child  look  much  like  a  king.  There  he  stood 
leaning  against  his  mother's  knee,  looking  at 
the  strange  visitors  with  great  eyes  of  won- 


THE  VISIT  OF  THE  WISE  MEN        37 

der,  and  probably  more  interested  in  the  Wise 
Men's  camels  than  he  was  in  the  Wise  Men 
themselves.  But  the  Wise  Men  kneeled  be- 
fore him  and  worshiped  him.  And  when 
they  had  opened  their  treasures,  —  the  queer- 
looking  boxes  and  bundles  which  they  had 
brought  with  them,  —  they  presented  unto 
him  gifts,  gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh. 
These  gifts  were  of  no  use  to  the  child. 
Frankincense  and  myrrh  are  kinds  of  fragrant 
gum  which  are  found  on  trees  and  shrubs  in 
the  East,  somewhat  like  the  sticky  substance 
which  we  find  on  pines.  They  were  used  to 
make  incense.  (Frankincense  means  simply 
pure  incense.)  That  is,  when  .put  on  burning 
coals  they  made  a  thick  smoke  with  a  sweet 
smell.  Such  was  the  incense  which  Zacharias 
was  placing  on  the  golden  altar  when  he  saw 
the  angel.  Thus  frankincense  and  myrrh  were 
used  in  the  worship  of  God.  Accordingly,  the 
Wise  Men's  gifts  were  meant  only  to  express 
the  thoughts  of  their  hearts.  As  they  knelt 
before  the  child  and  spread  them  out  at  his 
feet,  they  said  by  these  symbols  what  we  say 


38  WHEN   THE   KING  CAME 

in  the  Te  Deum  when  we  sing,  "  Thou  art 
the  King  of  Glory,  0  Christ."  And  since  the 
Wise  Men  were  not  Jews  but  Gentiles,  Joseph 
and  Mary  may  well  have  recited  one  to  an- 
other, after  they  went,  the  great  words  of  the 
Old  Testament,  "  The  Gentiles  shall  come  to 
thy  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy 
rising.  .  .  .  They  shall  bring  gold  and  in- 
cense ;  and  they  shall  show  forth  the  praises 
of  the  Lord." 

That  night,  before  the  next  day  dawned, 
the  Wise  Men  had  a  dream  ;  and,  in  the  same 
night,  Joseph  had  a  dream  also.  In  the  Wise 
Men's  dream  God  told  them  about  Herod,  and 
warned  them  not  to  return  to  him,  but  to  go 
back  to  their  own  country  another  way.  In 
Joseph's  dream,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared and  said,  "  Arise,  and  take  the  young 
child  and  his  mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt, 
and  be  thou  there  until  I  bring:  thee  word : 

O 

for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  destroy 
him."  So  the  Wise  Men  rose  up,  and,  avoid- 
ing Jerusalem,  went  to  their  homes  far  in  the 
east.  And  Joseph  also  waked  and  aroused 


THE  VISIT  OF  THE  WISE  MEN        39 

Mary,  and  they  made  a  hasty  preparation  for 
a  long  journey,  and  before  it  was  light  were 
a  good  distance  on  the  road  which  led  from 
Bethlehem  toward  the  south. 

And  when  the  day  came,  Herod,  too,  opened 
his  eyes,  and  he  remembered  the  Wise  Men 
and  their  errand.  "  This  morning,"  he  said 
to  himself,  "  I  shall  know  about  the  King." 
But  the  morning  passed,  and  the  afternoon 
also,  and  no  word  came  from  the  Wise  Men, 
and  at  last  Herod  saw  that  he  would  hear 
nothing  more  from  them,  and  he  was  very 
angry.  But  he  knew  that  Bethlehem  was  the 
place  where  the  King  should  be  born  ;  and 
he  knew,  according  to  the  time  which  he  had 
diligently  inquired  of  the  Wise  Men,  that  the 
King  could  not  be  more  than  two  years  old ; 
so  he  sent  men  who  killed  all  the  little  chil- 
dren in  that  village,  all  who  were  under  two. 
And  there  was  lamentation  and  weeping  and 
great  mourning  in  Bethlehem  among  the 
poor  mothers  and  fathers.  But  meanwhile 
the  King  was  on  his  way,  all  safe  and  sound, 
to  Egypt. 


VII 
THE  CARPENTER'S  HOUSE 

THE  good  angel  had  promised  Joseph  that 
he  would  be  sure  to  let  him  know  when  it  was 
safe  for  him  to  come  out  of  Egypt.  So,  one 
night,  he  appeared  again  in  a  dream  and  told 
him  that  Herod  was  dead.  "Arise,"  he  said, 
"and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother, 
and  go  into  the  land  of  Israel ;  for  they  are 
dead  which  sought  the  young  child's  life." 
Out  of  Egypt  they  came,  then,  very  gladly, 
riding  part  of  the  way  and  walking  part  of  the 
way,  —  the  child  walking,  too,  —  past  Bethle- 
henij  and  then  past  Jerusalem,  and  so  to  their 
own  town  of  Nazareth. 

Nazareth  is  an  inhabited  place,  even  to  this 
day.  And  not  only  are  there  still  to  be  found 
both  fathers  and  mothers  and  little  children 
in  it  as  there  were  then,  but  they  are  still  living 
in  much  the  same  way  ;  for  life  changes  very 
slowly  in  the  East.  Nazareth  is  among  the 
hills,  which  rise  about  it  on  all  sides,  like  a 


THE  CARPENTER'S  HOUSE  41 

sheltering  wall.  The  streets  run  across  the 
bases  of  the  hills,  probably  on  the  old  lines ; 
for  few  things  which  men  make  last  so  long 
as  a  street.  There  is  a  town  well,  a  clear  spring 
of  cold  water,  which  is  still  the  centre  of  the 
life  of  the  place,  as  it  was  when  our  Lord  was 
a  lad  there.  Twice  a  day,  all  the  women  and 
girls  go  there  with  earthen  pots  on  their 
heads,  bringing  them  empty  and  carrying 
them  away  full ;  and  every  week  they  meet 
by  the  side  of  the  stream  which  flows  from 
the  spring,  and  have  a  good,  neighborly  time 
doing  their  family  washing. 

So  years  went  by,  and  the  child  Jesus  grew, 
and  there  were  other  children.  The  house  was 
full  of  them.  There  were  James  and  Joses 
and  Jude  and  Simon,  our  Lord's  brothers  ; 
and,  at  least,  two  sisters.  The  house  in  which 
they  lived  was  a  white  building,  perhaps  made 
of  clay,  having  a  flat  roof.  The  roof  was 
reached  by  an  outside  stairway.  When  the 
weather  was  good,  the  family  all  slept  on 
the  roof,  each  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  under 
the  stars.  One  of  the  Psalms  tells  how  the 


42  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

grass  grew  on  the  roof,  and  how  the  hot  sun 
withered  it.  The  house  had  no  window  in  it : 
all  the  light  and  air  came  from  the  wide  door. 
Once  Jesus  told  about  a  woman  who  lost  a 
piece  of  money,  and  she  took  a  broom  and 
a  candle  to  find  it ;  for  the  corners  were  dark 
even  in  the  daytime.  He  had  seen  his  mother 
looking  for  things  with  a  candle  and  a  broom. 
There  was  not  much  furniture  in  the  house. 
Joseph  may  have  had  his  carpenter's  bench 
on  one  side,  but  he  probably  did  most  of  his 
work  out  of  doors,  except  when  it  rained. 
There  would  be  a  big  chest  on  the  other  side, 
for  rugs  and  blankets.  The  room  had  a  stove 
in  it ;  and  a  tall  lamp  made  of  earthen-ware, 
which  was  kept  burning  day  and  night.  There 
was  a  mill  in  which  Mary  ground  grain  to 
make  flour  for  bread,  the  little  girls  helping 
her.  The  little  boys  helped  their  father  at  his 
bench.  For  dinner  they  had  large,  round,  flat 
loaves  of  bread,  like  crackers,  with  butter 
or  cheese,  and  milk  and  honey ;  sometimes 
they  had  eggs,  sometimes  fish  from  the  Lake 
of  Galilee ;  with  a  dessert  of  grapes  or  figs. 


THE  CARPENTER'S  HOUSE  43 

There  was  commonly  a  central  dish  of  curds 
or  porridge,  in  which  all  dipped  their  broken 
pieces  of  bread.  Sometimes  the  children  would 
gather  locusts,  and  their  mother  would  roast 
them,  and  grind  them  up  with  flour,  and  bake 
them  into  nice  grasshopper  cake. 

The  children  played  among  themselves  or 
with  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  before 
the  doors  and  in  the  street.  They  had  a  game 
in  which  they  pretended  they  were  dancing 
at  a  wedding,  and  another  in  which  they  pre- 
tended they  were  crying  at  a  funeral.  And 
sometimes  some  of  the  children  would  be 
offended  and  say  that  they  would  not  play. 
All  this  Jesus  remembered,  and  spoke  of  it 
when  he  became  a  man. 

Every  little  child  was  taught  to  say  his 
prayers,  and  learned  sentences  of  the  Bible. 
The  first  words  which  Jesus,  like  all  the  others, 
learned  by  heart  were  these  :  "  Hear,  0  Israel, 
the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord.  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and 
with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  might."  As 
he  grew  older,  he  committed  to  memory 


44 

eighteen  other  verses,  and  recited  them  at  the 
beginning  and  the  ending  of  every  day,  when 
he  said  his  prayers.  That  was  the  custom  in 
all  good  households.  These  verses  he  pre- 
sently learned  to  read  and  then  to  write.  Then 
his  mother  taught  him  the  meaning  of  the 
words,  and  told  him  the  beautiful  stories  of 
the  old  time  which  were  written  in  the  Bible, 
about  the  faith  of  Abraham,  and  the  great 
deeds  of  Moses,  and  the  courage  of  Joshua, 
and  the  exploits  of  Samson.  There  were  other 
stories  which  would  impress  him  still  more, 
because  he  could  see  with  his  own  eyes  the 
places  where  they  had  happened.  There  was 
a  high  hill  near  Nazareth,  and  when  one 
climbed  it  there  was  a  wide  view  over  all  the 
country.  To  the  east  was  Mt.  Tabor,  where 
Deborah  and  Barak  fought  in  a  wild  storm 
of  rain  against  Sisera ;  and  Mt.  Gilboa,  where 
King  Saul  fell  down  slain  in  a  great  battle 
with  the  Philistines.  To  the  west  was  Mt. 
Carmel,  where  Elijah  contended  with  the  priests 
of  Baal,  and  called  down  fire  from  heaven. 
And  the  child  knew  that  to  the  south,  across 


THE  CARPENTER'S  HOUSE  45 

the  plain  and  beyond  the  mountains,  lay  Jeru- 
salem, the  holy  city. 

On  the  sabbath,  there  was  a  service  in  the 
synagogue,  to  which  the  child  went  with  his 
parents.  There  he  heard  the  Bible  read  and 
explained.  The  children  stayed  after  service, 
and  had  lessons  of  their  own.  Even  on  week- 
days, the  school  met  in  the  church,  and  much 
of  the  teaching  was  religious.  Thus  our  Lord 
was  taught  about  the  world  in  which  he  had 
come  to  live,  learning  arithmetic  and  geo- 
graphy and  history ;  and  about  God  who  is  in 
all  the  world  and  over  it,  and  who  wishes  even 
the  smallest  children  to  tell  the  truth,  to  be 
good  and  gentle,  and  to  obey  their  parents. 
And  on  holidays,  he  climbed  the  high  hill  to 
see  the  view,  and  there  thought  over  all  these 
things. 

Sometimes,  his  brother  James  went  with 
him,  and  the  two  boys  climbed  together,  talk- 
ing as  they  went ;  for  James  was  a  good  lad, 
with  a  serious  mind.  But  the  difference  be- 
tween James  and  Jesus  was  like  the  difference 
between  a  statue  and  a  tree ;  that  is,  James's 


46  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

goodness  was  rather  stiff  and  formal  and  made 
by  rule,  while  the  goodness  of  Jesus  was  free 
and  natural.  They  were  so  unlike  that  James 
was  often  shocked  at  the  sayings  of  Jesus.  I 
am  guessing  at  this  from  what  we  know  about 
them  after  they  grew  up.  James  could  not 
understand  him.  Indeed,  he  perplexed  the 
whole  family.  Many  times,  therefore,  Jesus 
sought  the  height  alone,  thinking  his  own 
thoughts. 


VIII 
AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE 

EVERY  year,  Joseph  and  Mary  went  on  a  long 
journey.  They  set  out  in  the  early  spring- 
time, when  the  leaves  were  green  and  the 
blossoms  were  pink  and  white,  and  before  the 
days  grew  hot.  First  they  walked  a  long  way 
to  the  east,  till  they  came  to  the  river  Jordan, 
on  whose  banks  they  pitched  their  tent  and 
spent  the  night.  Then  they  turned  to  the 
south,  following  the  course  of  the  river  all  that 
day  and  the  day  after,  and  avoiding  the  coun- 
try of  the  Samaritans ;  for  the  Jews  and  the 
Samaritans  were  enemies.  The  third  night 
they  slept  in  Jericho.  The  next  morning,  turn- 
ing to  the  west,  they  began  to  climb  the  hills, 
along  a  rough  road  which  was  shut  in  on  each 
side  by  steep  walls  of  rock.  So  they  came  to 
Bethany,  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  a  little 
farther  on,  at  a  sudden  turn  of  the  way,  they 
beheld  Jerusalem.  That  was  their  destination. 
On  this  annual  journey,  Joseph  and  Mary 


48  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

had  many  companions.  Indeed,  it  would  not 
have  been  safe  for  them  to  go  alone,  for  the 
roads  were  beset  by  robbers.  Even  between 
Jericho  and  Jerusalem  men  sometimes  fell 
among  thieves,  who  plundered  and  beat  them 
and  ran  away  leaving  them  half  dead.  People 
who  went  on  journeys  were  therefore  accus- 
tomed to  travel  in  companies  or  caravans. 
Joseph  and  Mary,  when  they  started  on  their 
long  walk,  would  have  many  of  their  friends 
with  them.  Half  of  the  people  of  the  place 
would  be  going  on  the  same  journey ;  and  on 
the  way  other  groups  would  join  them,  com- 
ing out  of  other  villages  and  bound  in  the 
same  direction. 

For  every  year  a  great  festival  was  held  at 
Jerusalem,  called  the  Feast  of  the  Passover. 
It  was  kept  in  remembrance  of  the  delivery  of 
the  people  of  Israel  out  of  slavery  in  Egypt. 
The  people  were  slaves  to  the  Egyptians,  and 
one  night  a  plague  of  death  fell  on  the  houses 
of  the  masters  ;  in  every  house  somebody  was 
dead.  But  the  destroying  angel  passed  over 
the  houses  of  the  slaves.  That  night  the  slaves 


AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE  49 

rose  up,  and  escaped  out  of  Egypt.  So  they 
became  a  nation.  The  Passover  was  the  na- 
tional birthday.  The  Fourteenth  of  Nisan,  — 
for  that  was  their  name  for  the  month,  —  was 
like  our  Fourth  of  July.  It  was  accordingly 
the  custom  to  keep  the  Fourteenth  of  Nisan, 
and  all  the  following  week,  as  a  national  holi- 
day. But  instead  of  keeping  the  festival,  each 
in  his  own  home  and  town,  all  the  people,  as 
many  as  could  get  away,  gathered  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Of  course,  there  were  many  who  had  to 
stay  behind,  to  mind  the  babies,  and  tend  the 
stores.  But  there  were  great  numbers,  like 
Joseph  and  Mary,  who  were  able  so  to  arrange 
their  affairs  as  to  go  on  the  spring  pilgrimage. 
One  can  easily  see  that  they  must  have  had 
a  merry  time  of  it.  Briskly  they  walked  in  the 
early  morning  along  the  pleasant  ways,  stop- 
ping to  drink  out  of  the  brooks  which  ran 
among  the  hills,  resting  and  sleeping  at  noon 
in  the  shade  of  the  woods,  talking  cheerfully 
one  with  another,  meeting  new  people,  and 
seeing  new  sights.  Thus  they  journeyed,  like 
the  Pilgrims  of  the  Canterbury  Tales.  Some- 


50  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

times,  as  they  pitched  their  tents  at  night,  or 
started  in  the  morning,  somebody  with  a  strong 
voice  would  begin  to  sing,  and  all  the  others 
would  sing  with  him.  The  Psalms  from  the 
one  hundred  and  twentieth  to  the  one  hundred 
and  thirty-fourth  were  pilgrim  songs. 

"  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills, 
From  whence  cometh  my  help. 
My  help  cometh  even  from  the  Lord, 
Who  hath  made  heaven  and  earth." 

So  they  sang  beside  the  mountains. 

"  They  that  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  even  as  the 

Mount  Sion, 

Which  may  not  be  removed,  but  standeth  fast  for  ever. 
The  hills  stand  about  Jerusalem; 
Even  so  standeth  the  Lord  round  about  his  people, 
From  this  time  forth  for  evermore." 

That  was  the  song  when  the  holy  hills  came 
into  view.  Finally,  they  joined  in  a  great  glad 
chorus  as  they  entered  the  city  itself :  — 

"  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
We  will  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
Our  feet  shall  stand  in  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem  is  built 
As  a  city  that  is  at  unity  in  itself. 


AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE  61 

For  thither  the  tribes  go  up,  even  the  tribes  of  the  Lord, 

To  testify  unto  Israel, 

To  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Of  course,  on  so  long  a  journey  it  was  im- 
possible to  take  the  little  children.  They  must 
wait  at  home  till  they  were  old  enough  and 
strong  enough  to  go  on  this  wonderful  pil- 
grimage and  see  the  sights  of  the  wide  world. 
Until  then  they  must  be  content  to  listen  to  the 
stories  of  their  fathers  and  mothers  about  their 
adventures  by  the  way  and  the  splendors  of 
the  holy  city.  But  now,  at  last,  our  Lord  was 
twelve  years  old,  and  his  time  came.  Out  they 
started  in  the  coolness  and  beauty  of  the  spring 
morning,  making  their  way  down  the  valley 
by  the  river,  and  sleeping  at  night  in  tents 
under  the  full  moon ;  for  the  Passover  always 
came  when  the  moon  was  full.  So  he  stood 
presently  on  the  side  of  the  Mount  of  Olives 
and  gazed  on  the  great  city. 

Jerusalem  was  built  on  hills,  and  had  a 
high,  stout  wall  of  stone  about  it,  with  a  tower 
at  every  turn.  Within  the  walls  were  crowded 
the  white,  flat-roofed  houses,  clinging  to  the 


52  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

terraced  hillsides.  And  above  all  shone  the 
splendid  temple.  To  the  temple  the  pilgrims 
made  their  way,  Joseph  and  Mary  holding 
Jesus  by  the  hand.  Entering  by  a  great  arched 
gateway,  they  found  themselves  in  the  temple 
inclosure.  This  was  a  wide  court,  paved  with 
stone,  and  surrounded  by  four  high  walls. 
Against  the  walls  on  the  four  sides  were 
porches,  their  roofs  upheld  by  pillars.  The 
court  was  crowded  with  people ;  some  of  them 
being  pilgrims  like  themselves,  while  others 
were  engaged  in  carrying  on  a  noisy  trade, 
selling  doves  and  lambs  for  sacrifices  and 
changing  money,  calling  out  at  the  tops  of 
their  voices.  In  the  midst  stood  the  temple 
itself.  A  great  stairway  of  fourteen  steps  led 
to  an  entrance  which  was  called  the  Beautiful 
Gate.  This  opened  into  a  large  room,  without 
roof,  called  the  Court  of  the  Women.  Here 
Mary  waited,  while  Joseph  and  Jesus  climbed 
another  stone  stairway  to  a  room  called  the 
Court  of  Israel.  This  was  separated  by  a  low 

barrier  from  a  third  room  called  the  Court  of 

% 

the  Priests.    Standing  beside  the  barrier  they 


AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE  53 

could  see  a  large  stone  altar,  and  behind  it  a 
stone  building  with  a  porch  and  a  roof.  In 
this  building,  hidden  behind  doors  and  cur- 
tains, were  two  rooms,  one  called  the  Holy 
Place,  in  which  stood  the  golden  altar  of  in- 
cense; and  the  other  called  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  an  empty  room,  through  whose  floor 
jutted  up  the  bare  rock  of  the  top  of  the  hill. 
There  in  the  Court  of  Israel  they  offered  a  lamb 
for  their  sacrifice.  A  priest  took  the  lamb  and 
killed  it,  burned  a  part  of  it  in  the  fire  which 
was  blazing  and  smoking  on  the  stone  altar, 
and  gave  the  rest  to  Joseph.  So  with  the  lamb 
upon  his  shoulder  Joseph,  taking  Jesus,  re  joined 
Mary  in  the  Court  of  the  Women,  and  they  all 
betook  themselves  to  the  place  where  they  were 
to  stay,  and  where  with  friends  and  relatives 
they  had  arranged  to  eat  the  Passover  Supper. 
Then  they  all  sat  down  together  when  the 
evening  came,  and  the  roasted  lamb  was  on 
the  table,  and  there  were  bitter  herbs,  and 
bread  and  wine.  And  at  an  appointed  moment 
in  the  meal,  Jesus  as  the  youngest  of  the  com- 
pany said,  "  What  does  this  service  mean  ?  " 


64  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

And  his  father  in  answer  told  the  story  of  the 
Passover.  Then  they  all  sang  songs:  which 
we  have  in  our  book  of  Psalms,  from  the  one 
hundred  and  thirteenth  to  the  one  hundred 
and  eighteenth. 

"This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made; 
We  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it. 
Help  me  now,  O  Lord: 
O  Lord,  send  us  now  prosperity. 
Blessed  be  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Then  there  was  a  week  of  visiting,  and  see- 
ing sights,  and  going  to  services  in  the  tem- 
ple ;  and  so  the  festivities  were  over  and  they 
started  to  go  home.  A  great  many  other  peo- 
ple, thousands  of  them,  were  starting  at  the 
same  time,  and  there  was  much  confusion.  But 
at  last  they  got  safely  out  of  the  city  gate  and 
over  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  way  down 
hill  to  Jericho,  when  they  missed  Jesus.  They 
had  noticed,  of  course,  that  he  was  not  by 
their  side,  but  that  had  not  surprised  them,, 
He  was  twelve  years  of  age,  a  sturdy,  inde- 
pendent lad,  and  in  the  caravan  there  were 
many  whom  he  knew,  some  of  them  his  rela- 


AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE  65 

tives.  So  they  said,  "  He  is  with  his  cousins  or 
some  other  playmates.  We  shall  see  him  when 
it  is  time  for  supper."  But  supper-time  came, 
and  even  bedtime,  and  he  did  not  appear. 
Joseph  and  Mary  went  about  in  the  dark,  with 
torches,  asking  all  their  neighbors  where  he 
was ;  but  nobody  knew.  At  last,  with  heavy 
hearts,  in  deep  distress,  they  hurried  back 
again  along  the  road  to  Jerusalem,  seeking 
him. 

But  Jerusalem  was  a  very  large  city ;  and 
just  then,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  in  confu- 
sion, with  crowds  of  people  coming  and  going. 
Joseph  and  Mary  went  to  the  place  where  they 
had  lodged,  but  he  was  not  there.  They 
inquired  of  all  the  people  whom  they  knew, 
but  could  find  no  trace  of  him.  One  day  had 
already  been  spent  in  going  as  far  as  Jericho ; 
another  day  in  returning ;  it  was  now  the  third 
day.  And  the  King  of  Glory,  who  had  been 
so  solemnly  and  wonderfully  intrusted  to  their 
care,  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 

At  last,  they  looked  in  the  temple.  There 
in  one  of  the  porches  was  a  company  of  people 


56  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

sitting  on  the  floor,  as  the  custom  was,  and 
listening  while  wise  men  taught.  The  teachers 
were  called  doctors ;  not  doctors  of  medicine, 
but  doctors  of  divinity,  teachers  of  religion. 
And  in  the  midst  of  the  gray-bearded  doctors, 
not  only  hearing  them  but  asking  them  ques- 
tions, was  the  child  Jesus,  while  all  who  heard 
him  were  astonished  at  his  understanding  and 
answers.  And  when  his  parents  saw  him  they 
were  both  glad  and  amazed ;  glad  to  find  him 
after  their  long  search,  but  amazed  that  their 
son,  this  little  lad  of  Nazareth,  should  be  sit- 
ting so  serenely  in  the  midst  of  those  learned 
people,  understanding  what  they  said. 

But  the  boy  had  done  wrong,  so  they 
thought.  He  had  caused  them  great  distress. 
And  his  mother  said,  "  Son,  why  hast  thou 
thus  dealt  with  us  ?  Behold,  thy  father  and  I 
have  sought  thee  sorrowing."  She  reproached 
him,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  as  mothers  must. 
But  he  answered,  "  How  is  it  that  you  sought 
me  ?  Did  you  not  know  that  I  would  be  found 
in  my  heavenly  Father's  house  ?  "  He  meant 
that  they  should  have  known  him  better  than 


AT  THE  AGE   OF  TWELVE  57 

to  search  for  him  from  street  to  street.  They 
should  have  looked  first  in  the  temple. 

It  shows  what  he  had  been  doing  all  that 
week,  while  other  boys  were  gazing  at  the  shop 
windows,  or  admiring  the  bright  uniforms  and 
shining  lances  of  the  castle  guard.  He  had 
spent  his  time  in  the  holy  house,  attending  to 
the  words  of  the  wise ;  like  the  child  who  loves 
to  get  away  by  himself  with  a  book. 

It  shows,  too,  that  already  he  had  that  habit 
of  attention  which  is  a  part  of  greatness. 
When  he  was  interested,  he  thought  of  no- 
thing else.  By  and  by,  we  shall  see  him  think- 
ing so  deeply  that  for  a  long  while,  even  for 
days,  he  forgets  to  eat.  Now  he  forgets  what 
time  it  is,  and  how  his  father  and  mother 
are  starting  off  for  home.  All  his  mind  is  on 
the  words  of  the  wise  men.  That  was  differ- 
ent from  the  ways  of  James  and  Joses  and 
the  others.  His  father  and  mother  could  not 
understand  it. 

But  he  turned  about  and  took  their  hands 
and  went  away  between  them,  and  so  came 
to  Nazareth  again  and  took  up  the  old  life. 


58  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Every  day  he  did  just  what  they  wished  him 
to  do.  Every  day  he  learned  his  lessons,  and 
said  his  prayers,  and  did  his  work,  grow- 
ing tall  and  strong;  and  everybody  loved 
him. 


II 

How  THE  KING  BECAME  CONSCIOUS  OF  HIS 
KINGSHIP,  HEARING  A  VOICE  OUT  OF  THE 
SKY;  AND  HOW  CERTAIN  FISHERMEN  BE- 
LIEVED IN  HIM  AND  FOLLOWED  HIM. 


I  . 

THE  HERALD  SPEAKS 

ALL  this  time,  while  the  King  was  growing  out 
of  boyhood  into  manhood,  the  King's  herald 
was  in  the  wilderness. 

The  little  John  must  have  stayed  at  home 
till  he  was  as  much  as  twelve  years  old.  His 
father  and  mother  would  not  have  allowed 
him  to  go  off  alone  till  he  was  at  least  as  old 
as  that.  It  may  be  that  during  these  years  the 
little  King  and  the  little  herald  met.  For  their 
mothers  were  related,  and  Mary  visited  Elisa- 
beth before  either  of  the  children  was  born. 
Elisabeth  may  have  visited  Mary  at  Nazareth, 
bringing  John  with  her. 

John's  father  and  mother,  you  remember, 
were  very  old.  They  may  have  died  while  the 
lad  was  in  his  tender  years.  He  may  have 
gone  to  the  wild  woods  because  there  was 
nobody  at  home  to  look  after  him.  But  there 
was  a  better  reason.  He  went  into  the  wilder- 
ness because  he  was  told  to  go  by  a  voice 


62  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

which  he  heard  in  his  soul.  Even  as  a  little 
boy,  he  heard  it  calling  him  and  calling  him. 
And  as  he  grew  older,  he  was  able  to  make 
out  what  it  said. 

The  voice  told  him  that  the  King  was 
coming.  But  that  was  no  secret :  many  peo- 
ple knew  that,  and  were  waiting  for  him  to 
appear.  The  voice  told  him  that  he,  the  little 
John,  was  to  be  the  herald  of  the  King.  But 
this,  too,  he  knew  before.  His  father  and 
mother  had  told  him  many  times  the  beauti- 
ful story  of  the  angel  at  the  altar,  and  of  the 
message  which  was  brought  from  heaven.  He 
knew  that  he  was  to  go  before  the  King  and 
prepare  his  way  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
preaching  like  Elijah.  Then  the  voice  told 
him  to  go  into  the  wilderness.  Little  by  little, 
he  came  to  understand  that  he  was  not  to  be 
a  minister  like  his  father,  nor  a  carpenter  like 
his  uncle,  nor  a  fisherman  like  his  cousin,  but 
was  to  spend  a  great  part  of  his  life  as  a 
hermit.  He  was  not  to  live  in  a  house,  nor 
walk  about  iii  the  streets  of  towns,  but  was  to 
be  a  man  of  the  woods,  living  all  by  himself, 


THE  HERALD  SPEAKS  63 

under  the  sky  and  the  trees.  Thus  he  was  to 
prepare  himself  to  be  the  herald  of  the  King. 
For  no  serious  work  can  be  done  without 
preparation.  Not  even  a  game  of  ball  can  be 
well  played  without  knowing  the  game  and 
practicing  it  often.  Not  even  a  school  exami- 
nation can  be  passed  without  getting  ready 
for  it  by  hard  study.  Nobody  can  be  a  motor- 
man  without  learning  how,  or  a  soldier  with- 
out being  drilled.  Thus  the  boy  John  would 
first  study  the  life  of  the  woods.  He  would 
spend  his  holidays  camping  among  the  hills. 
He  would  learn  how  to  make  a  hut,  and  how 
to  get  fire  by  rubbing  sticks  together,  and 
how  to  find  food  and  cook  it,  and  how  to  see 
his  way  where  there  was  no  path.  He  would 
get  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the  wild 
bees,  so  as  to  know  where  they  kept  their 
honey,  and  how  to  take  it  without  getting 
stung.  He  would  get  his  mother  to  teach  him 
how  to  make  grasshopper  cake.  He  would 
make  friends  with  the  wild  animals,  so  that 
he  might  live  safely  in  their  neighborhood. 
Thus  he  would  prepare  himself  to  be  a  hermit. 


64  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

But  that  was  only  the  beginning.  All  his 
hermit  life  was  meant  to  prepare  him  to  be 
the  herald  of  the  King.  In  order  to  be  the 
herald  of  a  king  one  must  know  the  king 
when  he  appears.  And  in  order  to  know  the 
King  of  Glory  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  pure 
heart,  and  to  be  accustomed  to  the  presence 
of  God.  So  years  went  by,  and  John  still 
lived  in  the  depths  of  the  woods.  He  cared 
little  about  what  he  had  to  eat  or  to  drink, 
and  was  not  at  all  particular  about  his  clothes. 
He  devoted  himself  wholly  to  God,  saying  his 
prayers  in  the  face  of  the  stars  and  of  the 
sun,  feeling  and  seeing  God  in  the  wonderful 
world  about  him,  and  trying  in  every  way  to 
increase  in  the  knowledge  and  the  love  of  God. 
And  that  went  on  till  John  was  thirty  years 
of  age. 

Then,  one  day,  the  voice  which  had  called 
him  into  the  woods  told  him  that  it  was  time 
for  him  to  go  out.  "  Come,"  said  the  voice, 
"  and  stand  beside  the  river.  There  speak  to 
all  who  pass  by,  saying  that  the  King  is  com- 
ing, and  that  if  they  wish  to  see  him  they 


THE  HERALD  SPEAKS  65 

must  first  make  their  hearts  clean  of  sin,  and 
as  a  sign  of  it  they  must  have  their  bodies 
washed  in  the  running  water;  they  must  be 
baptized.  And,  presently,  among  the  company, 
you  will  find  the  King  himself.  You  will  see 
the  Spirit  descending  upon  him." 

So  John  went  out  and  stood  beside  the 
river  Jordan.  There  was  no  bridge,  but  the 
stream  was  shallow  and  the  road  ran  through 
the  river.  People  were  coming  and  going,  wad- 
ing across  the  ford.  The  wilderness  came  near 
the  edge  of  the  water,  a  tangle  of  tamarisks 
and  willows,  and  there  were  stones  along  the 
bank,  and  reeds  in  the  wet  places.  John  was 
a  strange  figure,  his  long  hair  falling  upon 
his  shoulders  and  his  long  beard  falling  upon 
his  breast,  a  great  rough  cloak  of  coarse  yel- 
low cloth  about  him,  made  of  camel's  hair, 
and  tied  about  his  waist  with  a  belt  of  leather. 
Coming  from  his  long  stay  in  the  wild  woods, 
and  standing  there  in  his  youth  and  strength 
with  his  long  staff  in  his  hand,  his  face 
browned  by  the  sun  and  the  breeze,  and  a 
look  in  his  eyes  as  of  one  who  had  seen  God, 


66  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

he  was  a  strange  and  striking  person,  and 
everybody  stopped  to  see  and  hear  him.  Day 
by  day,  the  crowd  increased  about  him. 

There  were  country  people  going  in  to  mar- 
ket, and  city  people  going  out  to  see  their 
farms.  There  were  soldiers  in  the  uniform  of 
the  Roman  army,  and  publicans  who  collected 
the  Roman  taxes :  men  whom  most  people 
hated,  for  the  Romans  had  conquered  the 
land  and  held  it  by  force  of  arms.  There 
were  those  who  came  from  curiosity,  having 
been  told  that  a  wild  man  was  saying  wild 
things  at  the  ford  of  the  Jordan.  There  were 
those  who  came  hoping  to  find  a  man  of  God, 
and  finding  him  indeed ;  and  among  them 
several  young  fishermen  from  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  much  again. 
There  were  those  who  were  living  lives  of  sin, 
daily  breaking  the  Ten  Commandments.  There 
were  messengers  from  the  great  people,  from 
the  governor  and  the  chief  priests,  from  the 
leaders  of  the  temple  and  of  the  synagogue, 
Sadducees  and  Pharisees,  to  ask  John  who  he 
was,  and  to  carry  back  word  to  their  masters. 


THE  HERALD  SPEAKS  67 

Indeed,  outside  the  crowd,  but  within  hearing, 
were  some  of  the  great  people  themselves,  who 
had  come  to  see  with  their  own  eyes  and  to 
hear  with  their  own  ears.  To  all  these  the 
herald  spoke,  in  a  loud  voice,  telling  them 
that  One  whom  they  knew  not  stood  among 
them,  even  the  King  of  Glory ;  and  baptizing 
all  who  repented  of  their  sins. 


n 

HEAVEN  AND  THE  KIVER 

ALL  this  time  Jesus  had  been  living  at  Naza- 
reth. It  is  likely  that  during  these  unrecorded 
years  Joseph  died,  for  we  hear  no  more  about 
him.  In  that  case,  Jesus,  as  the  eldest  son, 
became  the  head  of  the  family.  Probably  he 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  with  plane  and 
saw  and  hammer,  and  built  houses  and  mended 
roofs ;  and  the  neighbors  sent  for  him  to  make 
their  doors  and  tables,  and  yokes  for  their  oxen. 
The  family  grew  up  about  him,  from  boys  and 
girls  to  men  and  women.  At  least  two  of  the 
brothers,  James  and  Jude,  married :  St.  Paul 
tells  us  that.  And  there  were  small  nephews 
and  nieces.  When  our  Lord  took  little  children 
in  his  arms  he  knew  how  to  hold  them.  There 
was  always  a  baby  in  the  carpenter's  house. 

The  life  of  the  great  world  went  on  out- 
side, with  its  business  and  its  battles,  with 
ships  putting  out  to  sea,  and  soldiers  march- 
ing, and  streets  of  cities  full  of  eager  people. 


HEAVEN  AND  THE   RIVER  69 

From  the  hills  of  Nazareth  one  looked  down 
on  the  great  roads  which  ran  across  the  plain : 
from  Egypt,  traveled  by  merchants;  from 
Jerusalem,  with  pilgrims  coming  and  going ; 
from  Damascus,  with  caravans.  To  the  north 
of  the  village  lay  the  highway  from  the  sea, 
along  which  Roman  legions  made  their  way, 
with  sound  of  trumpets,  the  sun  glittering  on 
the  points  of  their  spears,  and  all  the  Nazareth 
boys  perched  on  high  rocks  and  in  the  trees 
to  see  them.  Nazareth  was  a  station  on  these 
lines  of  travel,  like  a  town  where  railroads 
meet,  and  was  kept  acquainted  with  the  world's 
news  and  knew  the  world's  ways.  It  had  a 
bad  name  among  the  villages  of  the  neigh- 
borhood ;  so  that  our  Lord,  growing  up  there, 
did  not  live  a  sheltered  life,  in  which  it  is 
more  easy  to  be  good  than  to  be  bad,  but  was 
exposed  to  continual  temptation.  He  knew  all 
the  trials  which  boys  have  to  meet  in  public 
schools  and  in  the  streets  of  cities.  He  was 
tempted  in  all  ways  just  as  we  are :  with  this 
difference,  that  he  never  sinned.  All  his  life 
long,  he  never  did  a  wrong  deed,  nor  said  an 


70  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

evil  word,  nor  even  had  in  his  heart  a  sinful 
thought.  Thus  the  years  went  by. 

Then,  one  day,  the  word  came  that  a  new 
preacher  —  perhaps  a  new  prophet  —  was 
preaching  at  the  ford  of  the  Jordan.  Some- 
body who  passed  by  said  so  ;  or  perhaps  some 
Nazareth  neighbor  going  to  Jerusalem,  to  the 
temple  or  the  market  there,  had  gone  to  hear 
him,  coming  back  with  great  accounts  of  the 
speaker  and  the  sermon.  People  talked  about 
it  in  the  street  after  supper.  And  our  Lord 
determined  to  go  down  and  hear  the  preacher 
with  his  own  ears. 

Probably  he  went  on  foot,  in  a  company  of 
the  neighbors  ;  but  it  is  likely  that  he  walked 
alone,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  others, 
thinking  his  own  thoughts  —  for  he  had  much 
to  think  about.  Eighteen  years  had  now  passed 
since  he  sat  as  a  boy  in  the  temple  and  listened 
to  the  teaching  of  the  doctors.  During  these 
years  he  had  gradually  come  to  see  that  he 
was  different  from  other  men.  As  he  grew 
tall  and  strong,  his  mind  and  his  soul  grew 
and  became  great.  He  felt  his  strength  of 


HEAVEN  AND  THE  RIVER  71 

spirit  as  a  strong  man  feels  his  strength  of 
body-  More  and  more,  as  he  talked  with  James 
and  Joses  and  the  others  as  they  worked  to- 
gether, he  came  to  see  that  his  thoughts  were 
not  as  their  thoughts.  As  he  stood  alone  on 
the  heights  of  the  hills,  and  looked  out  across 
the  world  and  up  into  the  sky,  he  felt  that 
God  was  wonderfully  near  to  him,  so  that  he 
could  almost  touch  him  with  his  hand.  He 
heard,  like  John,  a  voice  in  his  soul,  calling 
him  away  from  the  carpenter  shop,  away  from 
Nazareth,  to  be  a  leader  and  a  helper  of  men. 
As  yet,  however,  all  was  dim  and  vague.  He 
increased  in  stature  and  in  wisdom,  but  he  had 
not  yet  come  to  a  full  knowledge  of  himself. 

So  he  arrived  at  the  ford  of  the  Jordan, 
and  there  was  John  the  Baptist,  in  his  great 
cloak,  preaching,  the  crowd  pressing  close  about 
him. 

Sometimes  the  people  asked  John  questions. 
The  men  who  came  from  the  rulers  asked  him, 
saying,  "  Who  are  you  ?  are  you  Elijah  ?  " 
"No,"  hesaid.  "  Are  you  the  King  of  Glory?  " 
"  No."  "  Who  are  you,  then,  that  we  may 


72  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

have  an  answer  to  take  back  to  our  masters  ? 
What  do  you  call  yourself  ?  "  He  said,  "  I  am 
the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
*  Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord.'  "  "  Why, 
then,"  they  said,  "  do  you  baptize,  if  you  are 
neither  Elijah  nor  the  King  of  Glory  ?  "  "I 
baptize,"  he  answered,  "  with  water  only, teach- 
ing people  to  prepare  their  hearts  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  King.  The  King  will  come.  Yes, 
he  has  come  already.  Here  among  you  in  the 
crowd  he  stands,  even  now,  unknown."  And 
John  stretched  out  his  great  arms  right  and 
left,  as  if  he  were  inviting  the  King  to  come 
forth  and  declare  himself.  And  Jesus  stood  in 
silence,  listening. 

The  soldiers  were  much  impressed  when 
John  spoke  of  the  life  which  a  true  man  ought 
to  live,  and  they  said,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 
And  the  publicans  said,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 
And  he  told  them  to  be  just  and  honest  and 
contented,  and  to  do  good  to  others. 

Sometimes,  John  the  Baptist  spoke  very 
sternly,  seeing  the  wickedness  of  the  world, 
and  crying  out  against  it.  He  especially  re- 


HEAVEN  AND  THE  RIVER  73 

proved  those  who  seemed  to  be  better  than 
they  really  were,  telling  them  that  God  would 
judge  every  man  according  to  his  works,  and 
that  already  it  was  as  when  a  woodsman  marks 
with  his  axe  where  he  will  strike  the  tree. 
And  he  looked  straight  at  a  company  of  gentle- 
men on  the  edge  of  the  crowd,  so  that  every- 
body knew  whom  he  meant,  and  the  gentlemen 
turned  away  in  confusion  and  anger,  saying 
one  to  another  that  the  speaker  was  but  a 
crazy  man. 

Meanwhile,  between  the  answers  and  the 
speeches,  people  were  coming  up  in  little 
groups  to  be  baptized,  wading  out  and  plun- 
ging with  a  great  splash  into  the  river,  or 
standing  while  John  poured  water  on  their 
heads.  And  among  them  Jesus  came  that  he 
might  be  baptized.  It  is  not  likely  that  John 
the  Baptist  knew  him,  having  spent  so  many 
years  in  the  woods ;  but  the  moment  he  saw 
him  he  perceived  that  he  was  some  great  per- 
son. There  was  a  light  in  his  eyes  which  made 
him  unlike  anybody  else.  Indeed,  when  John 
looked  again,  he  was  almost  sure  that  here  at 


74  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

last  was  the  King  of  Glory.  And  he  said,  "  I 
must  not  baptize  you.  It  is  for  you  to  baptize 
me."  But  our  Lord  insisted,  and  into  the  water 
they  went,  the  two  together,  the  herald  and 
the  King,  with  the  river  beneath  and  heaven 
above.  And  John  baptized  him. 

This  ceremony  did  not  mean  what  baptism 
means  now.  Baptism,  as  we  have  it,  is  the  ser- 
vice by  which  persons  are  admitted  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Christian  society,  the  church. 
Our  Lord's  baptism  was  like  what  we  call  ordi- 
nation. It  was  the  act  by  which  he  entered 
into  the  ministry. 

There  he  stood,  then,  between  heaven  and 
the  river;  and  a  wonderful  thing  happened. 
The  divine  voice,  which  had  spoken  so  often 
in  the  soul  of  John  and  in  the  soul  of  Jesus, 
seemed  now  to  them  both  to  be  speaking 
straight  from  the  sky.  They  two  felt  that 
they  were  surrounded  by  a  blaze  of  glory, 
the  heaven  being  open  and  shining  down 
upon  them.  The  herald  saw  a  form,  dim  and 
shadowy,  as  of  a  fluttering  dove  coming  down 
and  resting  on  the  King.  It  was  the  sign 


HEAVEN  AND  THE  RIVER  75 

which  had  been  promised  him  long  before 
in  the  wilderness,  by  which  he  should  recog- 
nize his  Lord  and  Master.  And  the  voice  said, 
"  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased." 


in 

THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS 

THE  voice  from  heaven  changed  the  whole 
manner  of  our  Lord's  life.  He  worked  no  more 
at  the  carpenter's  trade  after  that.  He  had  a 
much  more  important  business ;  for  he  knew 
now,  with  all  certainty,  that  he  was  indeed  the 
Son  of  God. 

Nobody  knows  all  that  that  means.  Even 
wise  persons  who  have  studied  it  deeply  are 
not  able  to  make  us  understand  it  in  its  full- 
ness. But  some  things  in  it  are  quite  plain. 

It  is  plain  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah. 
Messiah  is  a  Hebrew  name,  as  Christ  is  a 
Greek  name ;  and  they  both  mean  one  who 
has  been  anointed.  It  was  by  anointing, — 
that  is,  by  pouring  fragrant  oil  on  one's  head, 
—  that  a  man  was  made  a  priest  or  a  king. 
This  was  a  way  of  saying  that  God  had  called 
this  man  into  his  high  service,  and  that  he 
would  give  him  blessing  and  strength  from 
heaven.  The  people,  for  a  long,  long  while, 


THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS  77 

had  been  looking  for  a  wonderful  Anointed 
One,  who  should  be  their  king  and  their  priest 
at  the  same  time,  —  a  king  to  make  them  great 
and  a  priest  to  make  them  good.  Mysterious 
things  were  said  about  him  in  the  Bible.  They 
were  all  expecting  him ;  but  in  a  temple  or  a 
palace,  not  in  a  carpenter's  shop.  That  day  by 
the  river,  when  the  Spirit  as  a  dove  came  down 
from  heaven,  God  anointed  Jesus. 

Jesus  was  the  Messiah ;  but  the  name  Son 
of  God  meant  more  than  that.  One  day,  he 
said  that  anybody  who  had  seen  him  had  seen 
God,  because  he  was  in  God  and  God  in  him. 
God  is  in  all  the  world,  where  the  heavens  de- 
clare his  glory,  and  all  things  show  his  wisdom 
and  his  might :  God  is  the  Father.  God  is  also 
in  all  men,  speaking  to  us  in  our  hearts  by  the 
voice  of  conscience :  God  is  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  in  neither  of  these  ways  does  God  speak 
very  clearly  to  us.  Nature  does  not  make  us 
sure  of  his  love,  and  conscience  does  not  make 
us  sure  of  his  will.  But  God  is  in  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God.  By  him,  God  speaks  and  tells 
us  plainly  of  his  love  and  of  his  will.  In  him 


78  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

God  so  dwells  that  Jesus  Christ  is  at  the  same 
time  man  and  God. 

This  was  the  great  meaning  of  the  word 
from  heaven.  At  that  moment  Jesus  came  to 
complete  knowledge  of  himself.  It  was  as  if  a 
prince,  brought  up  in  the  house  of  a  carpen- 
ter, had  at  last  discovered  the  secret  of  his 
birth,  and  learned  his  place  in  the  world,  cry- 
ing, "  I  am  the  son  of  the  king ! "  So  Jesus, 
with  the  light  of  heaven  in  his  eyes  and  the 
voice  of  heaven  in  his  ears,  said  over  and  over 
to  himself,  trying  to  realize  it,  "  I  am  the  Son 
of  God !  I  am  the  Son  of  God !  " 

«sL 

Immediately,  he  went  away  alone,  seeking  a 
place  where  he  might  think.  He  plunged  into 
the  wilderness  out  of  which  John  had  come. 
There  he  stayed,  days  and  days,  out  of  the 
sight  of  men,  in  the  silence  of  the  woods,  with 
the  wild  beasts  for  neighbors,  thinking  and 
thinking,  making  out  what  all  this  meant  for 
him  and  for  the  world,  planning  his  new  life. 
Long  after,  he  described  what  took  place  there, 
putting  it  in  the  form  of  a  story.  Thus  one 
time  when  the  apostles  had  been  preaching  so 


THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS  79 

that  people  turned  from  their  sins,  he  said, 
"  I  saw  Satan  fall  from  heaven  like  a  flash  of 
lightning,"  meaning  that  he  foresaw  the  day 
when  evil  would  be  wholly  cast  down  by  the 
good.  So  here  he  said,  telling  what  happened 
in  his  soul,  "  The  devil  came  and  spoke  to 
me ; "  meaning  that  one  wrong  thought  after 
another  came  and  attacked  him. 

He  said  that  one  day  he  was  very  hungry ; 
for  he  had  been  so  occupied  with  his  great 
thoughts  that  he  had  forgotten  even  to  eat. 
You  remember  how  he  was  so  interested  that 
day  in  the  temple  that  he  forgot  to  go  home. 
So  days  and  days  passed  there  in  the  wilder- 
ness, during  which  he  sat  still,  with  his  eyes 
upon  the  ground,  thinking  and  thinking.  At 
last  he  was  aroused  by  the  appearance  of  a 
visitor,  and  when  he  looked  to  see  who  came, 
behold,  it  was  the  devil.  The  devil  began  in  a 
very  friendly  way,  as  he  always  does,  and  said, 
"  It  is  now  a  long  time  since  you  have  eaten 
anything.  You  must  be  very  hungry.  And 
here  you  are  in  the  wild  woods,  a  long  way 
from  good  food.  If  you  are  the  Son  of  God, 


80  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

speak  to  these  flat  stones  and  turn  them  into 
bread.  The  Son  of  God  can  do  that.  More- 
over, you  are  going  out  presently  into  the  world, 
to  tell  men  about  God ;  you  are  not  going  to 
be  a  carpenter  any  more.  How  will  you  sup- 
port yourself  ?  How  will  you  get  bread  to  eat  ? 
Make  your  own  bread.  Use  your  divine  powers 
to  help  yourself."  That  is,  the  devil  suggested 
that  he  ought  to  look  out  for  his  own  interests, 
for  his  own  comfort  and  advantage.  Here  he 
was  giving  up  his  business  in  order  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  the  service  of  God.  Was 
that  a  wise  thing  to  do  ?  For  there  are  people 
who  think  of  nothing  but  their  own  pleasure. 
They  are  like  the  old  woman  in  Mother  Goose, 
who  "lived  upon  nothing  but  victuals  and 
drink."  Our  Lord  turned  his  back  upon  that 
kind  of  life.  "  It  is  written,"  he  said,  "  ( Man 
shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
which  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.' ' 
That  was  the  first  temptation. 

Then  the  devil  did  what  a  regiment  of  sol- 
diers sometimes  do  in  battle.  The  soldiers 
pretend  to  run  away,  so  as  to  get  the  enemy  to 


THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS  81 

chase  them,  and  thus  they  get  the  enemy  into 
an  ambush  where  there  are  guns  firing  upon 
them  from  all  sides.  The  devil  pretended  to 
agree  with  what  our  Lord  said.  "  Of  course," 
he  answered,  "  the  body  is  not  of  so  much  im- 
portance as  the  soul.  It  is  best  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  even  if  we  go  hungry.  We  ought  to 
think  only  of  God.  Come,  let  us  do  as  you 
say."  And  the  devil  took  him  away  off  to  the 
holy  city,  and  placed  him  upon  the  top  of  one 
of  the  high  towers  of  the  temple,  and  they 
looked  down,  and  the  men  and  women  seemed 
like  ants  crawling  over  the  pavement  far  below. 
"  Now,"  said  the  devil,  "  let  us  rely  upon  the 
word  of  God.  God  says  that  he  will  give  his 
angels  charge  over  those  who  love  him,  and  in 
their  hands  they  shall  bear  them  up  lest  they 
stumble  over  the  stones.  Cast  thyself  down." 
There  it  was,  sure  enough,  in  the  Bible,  look- 
ing like  an  invitation  to  do  all  sorts  of  wild 
and  reckless  things,  trusting  in  the  care  of 
God.  There  have  been  people  who  have  met 
the  first  temptation  and  overcome  it,  and  have 
devoted  themselves  to  God's  service,  and  then 


82 

have  been  tempted  to  neglect  or  to  abuse 
their  bodies,  feeling  that  somehow  God  would 
be  pleased  to  have  them  fast  or  whip  them- 
selves or  break  the  laws  of  nature.  But  our 
Lord  answered,  "  It  is  written  again,  '  Thou 
shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God.' '  That 
is,  we  are  not  to  run  needless  risks  to  see  if 
God  will  save  us.  We  are,  indeed,  to  be  on 
guard  against  paying  too  much  attention  to 
our  bodies,  but  we  are  also  to  be  careful  to 
pay  them  such  attention  as  they  need.  So  our 
Lord  determined  that  though  he  must  give  up 
his  trade  and  be  in  peril  of  hunger  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  he  would  still  live  a  natural  life, 
taking  all  proper  care  of  himself.  Thus  he  met 
the  second  temptation. 

These  two,  you  see,  were  like  the  rocks  on 
either  side  of  a  narrow  river.  Some  have  struck 
the  rock  on  one  side  and  have  lived  lives  of 
mere  worldly  comfort ;  some  have  struck  the 
rock  on  the  other  side  and  have  become  fa- 
natics, doing  foolish  things  like  crazy  people. 
Our  Lord  went  straight  between.  But  now 
this  course  brought  him  to  a  mountain.  For 


THE  THREE  TEMPTATIONS  83 

the  devil  was  not  yet  discouraged.  The  devil 
is  very  patient.  "  I  know  what  you  want," 
he  said ;  "  you  want  the  whole  world  to  be 
good  and  happy.  Let  us  go  up  on  this  high 
mountain,  where  we  can  see  the  world."  So 
up  they  went,  in  the  vision,  and  there  the 
world  lay,  spread  at  their  feet  like  a  great 
map.  It  was  the  sight  which  he  had  seen  so 
many  times  from  the  great  hill  near  Nazareth  ; 
and  he  looked  now  with  the  same  deep  long- 
ing in  his  heart,  to  help  men  and  to  save  them. 
There  lay  the  little  towns,  in  every  one  of 
which  sin  and  sorrow  lived,  because  the  devil 
had  them  in  his  power.  And  the  devil  said, 
"  Now  I  will  go  away  and  leave  the  world  in 
peace.  I  will  go  out  and  all  joy  shall  come 
in,  if  you  will  do  one  thing.  Here  in  this  soli- 
tary place,  where  no  man  can  see  us,  kneel 
down  before  me !  "  It  was  as  if  the  devil  had 
said,  "  You  cannot  govern  the  world  without 
me.  You  cannot  even  begin  your  great  plans 
without  my  help.  If  you  determine  always  to 
be  perfectly  good,  always  to  do  perfectly  right, 
always  to  follow  the  ideal  wherever  it  leads 


84  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

you,  you  "will  fail.  That  is  the  truth  about  it. 
You  will  get  yourself  killed."  To  which  our 
Lord  answered,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ; 
for  it  is  written, '  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve.' ' 

Then  the  devil  left  him,  and  behold,  angels 
came  and  ministered  unto  him. 


IV 

THE   TWELVE  FRIENDS 

So  the  King  came  out  of  the  wilderness,  with 
his  face  shining  like  a  star.  But  he  still  wore 
his  carpenter's  clothes ;  and  that  kept  most 
people  from  knowing  who  he  was,  for  with 
most  people  clothes  mean  a  great  deal.  Out 
of  the  wilderness  he  came  into  the  valley  of 
the  river,  and  there  was  John  the  Baptist 
preaching.  And  the  King  walked  slowly  by 
along  the  road,  and  John  looking  over  the 
heads  of  the  crowd  saw  him.  And  he  spoke  to 
two  men  who  stood  beside  him.  "  There  he  is," 
he  said.  "  There  is  the  King  of  Glory."  And 
immediately  the  two  men  followed  the  King. 
One  of  these  men  was  named  Andrew  ;  the 
other  was  named  John.  We  will  call  him  John 
the  Apostle,  to  distinguish  him  from  John 
the  Baptist ;  though  after  this  we  shall  not 
hear  much  about  John  the  Baptist,  —  except 
once.  Andrew  and  the  new  John  were  fisher- 
men from  the  Lake  of  Galilee.  They  lived 


86  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

in  Capernaum  or  in  Bethsaida :  the  towns 
were  close  together.  They  were  partners  in  the 
fishing  business.  Each  of  them  had  a  brother. 
Andrew's  brother  was  named  Peter,  and  John's 
brother  was  named  James.  They  were  all 
partners  together,  these  four  friends. 

Each  of  the  pairs  of  brothers  had  a  good 
mother.  The  mother  of  Andrew  and  Peter 
was  named  Mary,  and  the  mother  of  John  and 
James  was  named  Salome.  The  mothers  were 
neighbors  and  good  friends,  like  the  sons. 
Both  of  them  became  friends  of  the  King,  and 
went  about  with  him  and  with  their  sons,  and 
cared  for  them.  But  Salome  had  been  a  friend 
of  the  King  from  his  boyhood,  for  she  was 
his  aunt.  Our  Lord's  mother  was  her  sister. 
Thus  James  and  John  were  our  Lord's  cousins. 
It  is  likely  that  Jesus  had  known  all  four  of 
these  young  fishermen  for  many  years,  Caper- 
naum being  but  a  little  way  from  Nazareth. 
Probably  they  were  all  about  the  same  age,  — 
about  thirty  ;  though  Peter  was  older  than 
John,  for,  as  we  shall  see  by  and  by,  he  could 
not  run  so  fast. 


THE  TWELVE   FRIENDS  87 

Andrew  and  John  were  the  first  to  join 
themselves  to  the  King,  hearing  what  John 
the  Baptist  said.  They  followed  Jesus,  and 
he  heard  their  footsteps  as  they  came  hurry- 
ing after  him,  and  turned  about  and  said, 
"Whom  are  you  looking  for?  "  They  answered, 
with  deep  reverence,  bowing  down,  "  Master, 
where  are  you  staying  ?  "  And  he  said,  "  Come 
and  see."  So  they  went  on  together,  the  King 
and  the  two  fishermen,  and  spent  that  after- 
noon talking  till  the  sun  went  down,  asking 
questions  and  answering  them. 

The  next  day,  Andrew  found  Peter  and 
brought  him  to  Jesus  ;  and  John  found  James. 
Then  our  Lord  himself  found  Philip,  who  was 
already  a  friend  of  the  four  partners,  and,  like 
them,  a  fisherman.  Philip  had  a  friend  named 
Bartholomew,  also  called  Nathaniel,  who  lived 
in  Cana,  not  far  from  Nazareth  and  not  far 
from  Capernaum.  Philip  told  Bartholomew 
that  they  had  found  the  Messiah,  that  his 
name  was  Jesus,  and  that  he  came  from  Naza- 
reth. Bartholomew  could  not  believe  it.  He 
knew  Nazareth  as  we  know  any  little  homely 


88  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

town  in  our  neighborhood.  It  seemed  impos- 
sible that  any  good  thing  could  come  out  of 
Nazareth.  But  Philip  said,  "  Come  and  see." 
And  Bartholomew  came  and  saw  and  believed. 
Thus  already  six  friends  had  gathered  about 
the  King.  Nobody  knows  what  Bartholomew's 
trade  was  :  he  may  have  been  a  fisherman  like 
the  other  five.  That  was  the  chief  business 
of  that  neighborhood.  There  were  many  fish 
in  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and  when  they  were 
caught  and  salted  they  were  sent  all  over  the 
empire,  and  people  ate  them  at  fine  dinners, 
even  in  Rome.  The  fishermen  did  not  get 
rich,  but  they  were  by  no  means  poor.  James 
and  John  and  their  father  Zebedee  had  men 
working  for  them.  It  was  a  healthy  and  happy 
occupation  for  those  who  had  strong  arms  and 
an  independent  spirit  and  patience  and  cour- 
age. They  lived  out  of  doors,  with  the  wind 
blowing  in  their  brown  faces.  They  were 
accustomed  to  danger,  for  the  lake  was  subject 
to  sudden  storms.  In  such  a  life,  these  six  — 
if  we  may  count  the  friend  from  Cana  —  had 
passed  their  days  since  they  were  boys ;  and 


THE  TWELVE   FRIENDS  89 

all  that  time  had  been  good  friends,  not  only 
fishing  together,  but  talking  together,  —  talk- 
ing about  the  sermons  at  the  synagogue,  and 
the  true  life,  and  the  world  in  which  they 
lived,  and  God  above  them  and  beside  them. 
They  were  just  the  men  whom  the  King 
wanted,  manly  and  open-minded. 

By  and  by,  —  though  this  was  after  some 
months,  —  the  King  invited  six  others.  One 
was  named  James,  and  was  called  "  the  little ;  " 
either  to  distinguish  him  from  our  Lord's 
cousin,  or  because  he  was  a  short  man.  An- 
other was  Thomas,  a  very  matter-of-fact  per- 
son, with  a  mind  of  his  own,  and  rather  in- 
clined to  look  on  the  dark  side.  Two  were 
named  Judas,  one  of  them  being  also  called 
Iscariot.  That  means  a  man  from  Kerioth, 
a  town  of  Judea,  a  long  way  from  Capernaum. 
Judas  Iscariot  was  a  stranger  to  the  others ; 
but  they  came  to  know  him  only  too  well. 
Another  friend  was  Simon,  who  belonged  to 
a  wild  secret  society  called  Zealots,  who  were 
all  the  time  laying  plots  against  the  Romans. 
Another  friend  was  Matthew. 


90  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

In  the  lists  of  the  twelve  friends,  or,  as  they 
are  called,  the  twelve  apostles,  the  name  of 
Judas  Iscariot  always  comes  last.  But  I  have 
here  put  Matthew  at  the  end,  partly  be- 
cause it  is  likely  that  he  was  the  last  to  be 
called,  and  partly  because  there  is  a  story  con- 
nected with  his  call.  A  great  road  ran  through 
Capernaum.  Sometimes  it  was  called  the  Way 
of  the  Sea,  and  sometimes  the  Great  West 
Road.  It  connected  the  lands  of  the  east  with 
the  lands  of  the  west,  extending  from  beyond 
Damascus  to  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Caravans,  like  trains  of  cars,  were  all  the  time 
going  back  and  forth  over  it.  The  Romans 
had  paved  it,  and  kept  it  in  good  order,  and 
for  this  service  they  collected  toll.  There  was 
a  toll-gate  at  Capernaum,  and  one  of  the  men 
who  sat  at  the  gate  was  Matthew.  Many  peo- 
ple disliked  Matthew  very  much,  because  he 
worked  for  the  Romans,  and  they  hated  the 
Romans.  They  disliked  him  all  the  more  be- 
cause he  was  a  Jew.  It  seemed  to  them  a 
shameful  thing  that  one  of  their  own  people 
should  be  in  the  employ  of  the  foreign  con- 


THE  TWELVE  FRIENDS  91 

querors.  So  Matthew  was  one  of  the  most 
unpopular  persons  in  town.  Few  respectable 
persons  would  have  anything  to  do  with  him. 
He  had  money  and  a  large  house,  but  his  only 
associates  were  those  who  were  in  his  own 
business.  He  had  even  been  turned  out  of  the 
church. 

It  is  much  to  Matthew's  credit  that  in  spite 
of  all  this  he  was  a  good  man.  The  six  fisher- 
men, who  saw  Matthew  at  the  toll-gate  every 
day,  knew  that ;  and  they  knew  also  that  the 
King  did  not  care  anything  for  popularity. 
Wherever  the  King  found  a  good  man,  he 
loved  him.  It  must  have  been  pretty  hard  for 
Simon  to  love  Matthew,  whom  all  his  secret- 
society  friends  hated  so.  But  the  toll-gate 
was  near  the  place  where  Jesus  was  accus- 
tomed day  by  day  to  speak  to  the  people. 
And  Matthew  sat  there,  hearing  every  word 
he  said.  Every  sentence  went  into  Matthew's 
heart  and  stayed  there.  And  one  day,  after 
the  sermon,  the  King  passed  by  the  gate 
along  the  Way  of  the  Sea,  and  as  he  went 
he  held  up  his  hand  to  Matthew  and  said, 


92  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

"  Follow  me."  And  Matthew  stood  straight  up, 
and  went  out  and  followed  him.  That  night 
he  gave  a  great  dinner  at  his  house,  and  had 
all  his  friends  there,  a  strange  company,  and 
the  King  sat  at  the  table.  For  Matthew  felt 
just  as  Andrew  and  John  and  Philip  did; 
having  come  himself  to  know  Christ,  he 
wanted  his  friends  to  know  him. 

Thus  there  were  twelve  friends  of  the  King, 
according  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  And 
they  were  called  Apostles,  which  means  Men 
who  are  Sent ;  because  our  Lord  was  teaching 
them  so  that  he  might  send  them  to  teach 
others. 


OUR  Lord  had  no  intention  of  returning  to  the 
carpenter's  bench,  but  he  wanted  to  go  home. 
He  wanted  to  see  his  mother,  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters.  He  had  now  been  away  a  long 
time,  and  they  would  be  anxious  about  him ; 
they  would  be  wondering  what  had  become 
of  him.  And  he  wanted  to  tell  them.  So  he 
started  in  that  direction,  probably  taking  Peter 
and  Andrew,  and  James  and  John,  and  Philip 
and  Bartholomew  with  him.  The  way  led 
through  Cana,  where  Bartholomew  lived.  And 
when  they  came  to  Cana,  our  Lord  found  his 
mother  there  and  other  Nazareth  folks,  who 
had  come  to  a  wedding.  The  village  was  full 
of  people  with  happy  faces,  and  there  was 
music  and  dancing.  In  that  country  every- 
body lives  out  of  doors,  and  the  pleasure  of 
one  family  is  shared  by  all  the  others. 

Our  Lord  was  acquainted  with  the  bride  and 
groom.    His  family  and  theirs  were  such  old 


94  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

friends, — perhaps  relatives,  —  that  his  mother 
was  quite  at  home  there,  and  went  in  and  out 
of  the  kitchen,  where  they  were  preparing  the 
wedding  supper.  So  the  King  was  invited  to 
the  feast,  and  all  his  new  friends  with  him. 
You  see  how  pleasantly  and  naturally  Jesus 
Christ  began  his  new  lif  e ;  not  as  a  hermit  like 
John  the  Baptist,  and  not  even  as  a  priest  in 
the  temple  or  as  a  preacher  in  the  synagogue, 
but  just  like  other  people,  taking  part  in  the 
simple  joys  of  his  neighbors.  Even  now,  com- 
ing to  them  as  the  Son  of  God,  he  did  not  make 
himself  different  from  them,  but  sat  down  in 
the  old  way  at  the  table ;  and  not  a  boy  or  a 
girl  stopped  laughing  because  he  was  there. 
They  had  a  better  time  than  ever. 

But  in  the  middle  of  the  feast,  our  Lord's 
mother  came  behind  him  and  whispered  to 
him.  "  They  have  no  wine !  "  she  said.  She 
had  been  in  the  pantry,  and  had  found  the 
family  in  much  distress.  Here  were  all  the 
people,  and  not  wine  enough  !  It  was  prob- 
ably a  little  wedding,  and  the  seven  unexpected 
guests  had  made  a  difference.  Let  us  remem- 


THE  KING  GOES   TO  A  WEDDING      95 

ber  that  in  that  country  everybody  drank  wine. 
It  was  almost  as  common  as  water.  Life  was 
much  more  simple  than  it  is  at  present;  and,  the 
people  living  out  of  doors  as  they  did,  wine  did 
not  do  them  so  much  harm  as  it  does  here. 
The  drinking  of  wine  was  one  of  the  joys  of 
social  life.  And  now  the  wine  was  giving  out ; 
the  skin  bottles  looked  like  big  toy  balloons  out 
of  which  the  gas  has  escaped ;  and  the  party 
would  be  spoiled.  So  the  mother  of  Jesus 
came  and  told  him,  not  knowing  what  he 
would  do,  but  hoping  that  he  might  do  some- 
thing. It  shows  how  she  was  accustomed  to 
depend  upon  him  when  things  went  wrong  at 
home.  It  was  he  who  always  made  them  right. 
"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  I  see.  I  will  attend 
to  it  presently."  And  she  went  back  and  told 
the  servants,  "  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you, 
do  it." 

Now  there  stood  there,  out  of  sight  of  the 
wedding  guests,  six  stone  jars  for  water, — 
large  jars,  like  those  in  which,  in  the  Arabian 
Nights,  the  forty  thieves  were  hidden.  For 
while  the  Jews  used  little  water  at  dinner, 


96  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

they  used  a  good  deal  before  dinner.  They 
poured  it  on  their  hands  to  make  them  clean 
before  they  ate,  and  were  very  particular  about 
it.  Having  so  many  guests,  the  family  had 
borrowed  water-jars  from  their  neighbors,  and 
so  much  water  had  been  taken  out  of  them 
that  they  were  almost  empty.  There  they  stood 
against  the  wall,  a  line  of  empty  jars,  when 
our  Lord,  rising  from  the  table,  went  out  and 
found  them.  "  Fill  them  with  water,"  he  said 
to  the  servants.  And  they  filled  them  up  to 
the  brim.  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  draw  out  and 
carry  to  the  master  of  the  feast."  So  in  they 
dipped  their  buckets  and  drew  them  out  all 
dripping.  But  do  you  know  what  it  was  which 
filled  the  jars,  and  dripped  from  the  buckets, 
and  gleamed  in  the  glasses  on  the  table  ?  It 
was  wine,  red  wine !  And  the  master  of  the 
feast  tasted  of  it,  and  he  said,  "  This  is  the 
best  wine  that  ever  I  drank."  And  he  lifted 
a  shining  glass  in  honor  of  the  bride  and 
groom,  saying,  "Most  people  bring  in  the 
choicest  wine  at  the  beginning,  but  you  have 
kept  it  until  now." 


THE  KING   GOES  TO   A  WEDDING      97 

This  is  what  is  called  a  miracle.  The  King 
of  Glory  did  many  miracles,  of  which  this  was 
the  first. 

There  was  a  time  when  people  thought  that 
God  was  very  far  away.  They  knew  that  God 
had  made  this  world,  but  they  thought  that 
after  he  had  made  it  he  had  gone  back  again 
into  heaven,  where  he  had  stayed,  for  the  most 
part,  ever  since.  But  sometimes  things  hap- 
pened here  on  earth  which  were  so  wonderful 
that  they  said,  "  God  must  have  come  back 
and  done  that :  "  and  these  wonderful  things 
they  called  miracles. 

The  truth  is,  as  we  know  now,  that  God  has 
never  gone  away  at  all.  He  is  here  always  and 
everywhere.  Everything  that  happens  in  the 
world  of  nature,  even  though  it  happens  every 
morning,  like  the  rising  of  the  sun,  is  done  by 
God.  What  wise  men  call  "  laws  of  nature  " 
are  only  God's  usual  ways  of  dealing  with  us. 
So  when  we  come  upon  some  new  and  marvel- 
ous thing,  like  talking  without  wires  across 
hundreds  of  miles,  or  turning  water  into  wine, 
or  making  sick  people  well  by  speaking  to 


98  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

them  or  praying  for  them,  we  do  not  ask,  as 
men  once  asked,  "  Did  God  come  down  and 
do  this,  or  is  it  only  the  work  of  man  ?  "  We 
ask,  "  Does  this  belong  to  the  usual  or  to  the 
unusual  ways  of  God  ?  "  That  is,  is  this  the 
sort  of  thing  which  happens  only  once,  by 
which  God  suddenly  makes  his  presence  known, 
or  is  it  done  in  accordance  with  such  a  "  law  " 
or  custom  of  God  that  many  people  might 
learn  to  do  it  if  they  were  only  good  enough 
or  wise  enough  for  God  to  teach  them  ?  Our 
Lord  said,  "  The  things  that  I  do  shall  ye  do 
also,  and  greater  things  than  these  shall  ye 
do."  And  that  has  come  true,  —  at  least,  the 
first  part  of  it  has  come  true,  —  with  regard  to 
curing  the  sick. 

There  are  some  of  our  Lord's  wonderful 
works,  however,  which  we  cannot  explain  by 
any  knowledge  which  is  known  to  us.  When 
we  come  to  such  miracles,  as  we  do  just  here 
at  the  wedding  in  Cana,  the  thing  for  us  to  say 
is  that  all  our  largest  knowledge  is  very,  very 
small.  One  of  the  wisest  men  who  ever  lived 
said  that  with  all  his  wisdom  he  was  like  a 


THE  KING  GOES  TO  A   WEDDING     99 

child  picking  up  pebbles  on  the  shore  of  a  vast 
ocean.  Even  now  we  know  but  little  about  the 
world  we  live  in,  or  about  God  who  lives  in 
the  world  and  in  our  souls. 

Jesus  turned  the  water  into  wine.  That  is 
all  we  know  about  it.  The  Son  of  God  could 
do  it,  and  he  did  it ;  to  add  to  the  happiness  of 
the  guests  at  a  village  wedding. 


Ill 


How  THE  KING  WAS  DRIVEN  OUT  OF  THE 
TOWN  WHERE  HE  HAD  LIVED,  AND  WENT 
ABOUT  THE  LAND  OF  GALILEE,  WITH  HIS 
DISCIPLES,  DOING  GOOD  AND  TEACHING  THE 
PEOPLE. 


THE  KING  AMONG  HIS  NEIGHBORS 

AND  now,  at  last,  after  these  great  weeks,  the 
King  was  back  again  in  his  own  home.  There 
was  the  little  town  in  the  hollow  of  the  hills 
with  the  green  heights  about  it.  The  dusty 
streets  ran  between  the  white  houses,  and  there 
among  them  was  the  carpenter's  cottage,  and 
beside  it,  in  the  shade  of  the  trees,  the  carpen- 
ter's bench.  The  shavings  lay  beneath  it  as 
he  had  left  them  on  the  day  when  he  started 
on  his  journey.  His  mother  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters  stood  at  the  door ;  and  as  the  sun 
set  and  the  stars  came  out,  and  the  cool  winds 
blew  down  from  the  peaks  above,  they  talked 
together  in  the  twilight,  and  he  told  them 
what  he  had  done  while  he  was  away. 

But  not  all.  There  are  some  things  which 
cannot  be  said  unless  the  listeners  are  in  perfect 
sympathy  ;  and  even  then  there  are  thoughts 
too  deep  and  hopes  too  high  for  speech.  It  is 
not  likely  that  our  Lord  told  them  that  he  was 


104  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

the  King  of  Glory,  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  not 
likely  that  he  told  them  that  he  was  the  Mes- 
siah, though  they  may  have  guessed  that  that 
was  what  he  thought.  He  said  that  he  would 
never  be  a  carpenter  again,  that  he  had  de- 
cided to  give  up  his  trade  and  to  go  about  the 
country  preaching ;  and  he  must  have  said  that 
he  had  been  led  to  this  decision  by  the  call  of 
God.  Of  this  we  may  be  as  sure  as  if  we  had 
sat  there  in  a  dark  corner  hearing  what  he 
spoke.  And  they  did  not  like  it ;  that,  too,  is 
plain.  James  did  not  like  it ;  he  felt  that  it 
was  irregular  and  improper.  He  wished  to 
have  all  things  go  quietly  on  in  the  usual  way. 
The  brothers  and  sisters  agreed  with  him. 
They  all  had  good  arguments  against  it.  The 
mother  probably  said  little,  dimly  remember- 
ing the  message  of  the  angel ;  but  she  did  not 
like  it,  either.  They  were  ah1  against  it.  They 
urged  him  not  to  do  it,  but  to  live  like  other 
people.  They  were  satisfied  with  things  as 
they  were,  but  he  was  not  satisfied. 

Then  came  the  sabbath  day,  and  everybody 
went  to  church.   The  church,  which  they  called 


THE  KING  AMONG  HIS  NEIGHBORS    105 

the  synagogue,  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
houses  like  a  New  England  meeting-house  in 
a  country  town,  except  that  it  had  no  steeple. 
It  was  a  plain,  square  building,  entered  by 
three  doors.  Within  were  two  rows  of  pillars, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  room  was  a  platform,  on 
which  sat  the  most  important  people,  in  the 
chief  seats.  In  the  midst  of  the  platform  was 
a  pulpit,  and  behind  the  pulpit  a  curtain,  and 
behind  the  curtain  a  chest,  and  in  the  chest  a 
Bible.  But  there  was  no  New  Testament  in 
the  Bible;  that  had  not  yet  been  written. 
And  the  Old  Testament  was  in  pen-and-ink, 
on  various  rolls  of  parchment.  Overhead,  be- 
fore the  curtain,  hung  a  lighted  lamp.  So  in 
came  the  congregation  :  old  men  and  women 
who  had  known  our  Lord  from  the  days  of 
his  early  childhood,  and  remembered  him  be- 
fore he  could  walk ;  and  young  men  and  women 
who  had  been  to  school  with  him,  with  whom 
he  had  played  and  worked ;  and  boys  and 
girls.  And  our  Lord,  still  wearing  his  car- 
penter's coat,  sat  in  his  usual  place  beside  his 
family. 


106  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

The  service  began  with  a  long  prayer,  which 
everybody  knew  by  heart ;  then  they  read  out 
of  the  Bible,  different  men  coming  up  from 
the  congregation,  each  reading  a  few  verses, 
and,  if  he  chose,  making  some  brief  comment 
upon  them.  The  ruler  of  the  synagogue  indi- 
cated the  men  who  were  to  read.  Last  of  all, 
he  beckoned  to  Jesus. 

Word  had  already  gone  about  the  village 
that  the  carpenter  felt  that  he  was  called  to 
be  a  prophet.  Nowadays,  when  we  speak  of  a 
prophet  we  mean  one  who  foretells  what  will 
happen  in  the  future,  but  in  the  Bible  the 
name  is  used  for  a  preacher,  for  a  man  who 
speaks  in  the  name  of  God.  The  Bible  pro- 
phets said  many  different  things  in  the  name 
of  God,  but  one  message  they  all  had  in  com- 
mon :  they  declared  that  the  world  about 
them  must  be  changed.  Men,  they  said,  were 
doing  wrong,  and  must  stop  it  and  do  right. 
Accordingly,  quiet  people,  and  all  who  liked  the 
old  ways,  and  men  who  were  in  authority,  and 
all  who  were  responsible  for  the  evils  of  the 
time,  dreaded  and  hated  the  prophets.  It  was 


THE   KING  AMONG  HIS   NEIGHBORS    107 

not  pleasant  news  that  a  prophet  had  appeared 
in  Nazareth.  Jeremiah,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, was  brought  up  in  a  little  town  called 
Anathoth,  which  was  inhabited  entirely  by 
ministers.  It  was  a  place  of  the  priests.  Every- 
body in  the  street  was  a  minister,  or  a  minis- 
ter's wife  or  sister,  or  a  minister's  son  or 
daughter.  Such  a  place  should  have  been  dis- 
tinguished for  its  goodness  and  gentleness. 
But  when  they  heard  that  Jeremiah  was  set- 
ting up  to  be  a  prophet,  they  tried  to  kill  him. 
The  ministers  threw  stones  at  him.  This  helps 
us  to  understand  what  happened  at  Nazareth. 
One  time  in  Boston,  just  before  the  Civil  War, 
a  mob  of  perfectly  respectable  people  —  mer- 
chants, bankers,  and  lawyers  —  tried  to  kill 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  because  he  was  a 
disturber  of  the  peace  of  society.  Every  pro- 
phet disturbs  the  peace  of  society.  That  is 
what  he  is  for. 

So  they  looked  at  Jesus  as  he  sat  among 
them,  not  quite  knowing  what  to  think,  re- 
membering all  his  beautiful  life  but  afraid  of 
what  he  might  do  next ;  and  when  he  stood  up 


108  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

to  read  the  Bible  in  the  service  they  listened 
so  intently  that  they  held  their  breath.  So  in 
the  stillness  he  found  the  place,  in  the  book 
of  Isaiah,  and  read  these  words :  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed 
me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor  ;  he  hath 
sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of 
sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that 
are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord.  This  he  read,  and  gave  back  the 
book,  and  sat  down ;  for  in  those  days  the 
preacher  sat  when  he  preached.  And  he  said, 
"  This  day  is  this  scripture  fulfilled  in  your 
ears;  "  meaning,  "  This  is  true  to-day  of  me. 
The  Lord  has  sent  me  to  do  all  this." 

At  the  sound  of  his  voice  and  in  the  hearing 
of  these  gracious  words,  they  were  filled  with 
awe  and  wonder.  But  some  said,  "  These  are 
bold  sayings  for  a  carpenter.  Joseph's  son  is 
taking  much  upon  himself."  And  they  re- 
membered how  he  had  been  one  of  them  all  his 
life  long,  and  some  were  his  cousins,  and  some 
had  held  the  ladder  while  he  mended  the  wall, 


THE   KING  AMONG  HIS  NEIGHBORS    109 

and  some  lived  next  door  to  his  married  sisters 
and  did  not  like  them  very  well,  and  some 
had  hired  him  by  the  day  to  do  their  work. 
They  began  to  talk  together  as  he  spoke,  and 
to  interrupt  him  with  questions.  Some  said  in 
the  words  of  an  old  proverb,  "  Physician,  heal 
thyself  ;  "  that  is,  "  You  speak  of  doing  great 
things  for  the  nation,  but  here  you  are  a  poor 
man  whom  nobody  has  ever  heard  of.  Make 
something  of  yourself,  enrich  yourself,  get 
yourself  accepted  by  those  who  are  in  author- 
ity ;  then  come  and  say  these  great  words  and 
we  will  listen  to  you."  It  was  like  the  first 
temptation. 

To  some  he  said,  "  It  is  because  you  know 
me  so  familiarly  that  you  reject  me  :  a  pro- 
phet is  without  honor  in  his  own  country." 
And  when  they  cried,  "  Show  us  a  miracle  and 
we  will  give  you  honor,"  he  spoke  of  famous 
prophets  of  the  old  time,  how  they  had  done 
wonderful  works  of  blessing,  not  for  their  own 
people,  but  for  strangers.  Elijah  had  fed  a 
woman  of  Sidon  during  a  famine,  and  Elisha 
had  cleansed  the  leprosy  of  Naaman  the  Syrian. 


•IKO  '  3UW  SCX1 

'100H3S1VMHOM31YIS 


110  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Finally,  they  rose  up  in  great  anger,  and 
rushed  upon  him  where  he  sat,  laying  hold  on 
him  with  rough  hands,  and  pushing  and  pull- 
ing him  got  him  out  of  the  church  into  the 
street.  The  service  was  stopped,  and  the  holy 
sabbath  was  profaned  with  their  noise  and 
shouting.  And  one  cried,  "  To  the  cliff ! " 
proposing  that  they  should  cast  him  down 
headlong  over  a  steep  place.  But  he  looked 
upon  them  so  that  they  loosed  their  hold. 
There  was  a  light  in  his  face  like  the  sun  at 
noon.  They  took  their  hands  off  in  fear,  and 
let  him  go ;  and  he  turned  about  and  walked 
back  through  the  crowd  who  stood  in  sudden 
silence  watching  him.  Down  he  went  along 
the  street,  past  the  church,  past  his  own  house, 
past  the  town  well,  and  out  of  sight. 

He  never  lived  in  Nazareth  again.  Indeed, 
after  that,  he  had  no  settled  home.  Once  he 
said,  "Foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of 
the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath 
not  where  to  lay  his  head."  The  worst  of  it 
was  that  his  own  family  turned  against  him. 
His  brothers  did  not  believe  in  him.  After  a 


THE  KING  AMONG  HIS  NEIGHBORS    111 

while  they  thought  that  he  was  out  of  his  mind, 
saying  one  to  another,  "  He  is  beside  himself." 
One  time  they  all  went  out,  his  mother  and 
his  brothers,  to  take  him  as  he  was  preaching 
to  a  crowd  of  people  and  bring  him  home,  and 
somebody  said,  "  There  are  your  brothers  and 
your  mother,"  and  he  answered,  "  Who  is  my 
mother  ?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ?  "  And 
he  looked  round  on  them  which  sat  about 
him,  and  said,  "  Behold  my  mother  and  my 
brethren  !  For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of 
God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister, 
and  mother." 


n 

A  DAY  OF  THE  KING'S  LIFE 

AFTER  that,  our  Lord  was  very  busy  with  his 
great  work  of  helping  people.  At  first  in 
Capernaum,  and  then  in  other  places  in  Galilee, 
he  went  about  preaching  and  blessing.  Some 
of  these  words  of  wisdom  and  works  of  won- 
der are  written  down  in  the  four  records  of  his 
life  which  are  called  the  Gospels.  Once  we 
have  an  account  of  almost  a  whole  day.  We 
know  what  he  did  in  the  morning  and  in  the 
afternoon  and  in  the  evening. 

The  place  was  Capernaum,  on  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  where  several  of  the  apostles  lived,  and 
where  our  Lord  spent  so  much  of  his  ministry 
that  it  was  called  his  own  city.  It  was  then  a 
busy  town,  though  to-day  nobody  knows  just 
where  it  stood,  so  completely  has  it  fallen  into 
ruins.  A  week  had  now  passed  since  the  sab- 
bath at  Nazareth,  and  the  holy  day  had  come 
again,  and  again  our  Lord  with  his  disciples 
went  to  the  service.  Here,  as  at  Nazareth, 


A  DAY  OF  THE  KING'S  LIFE         113 

people  had  been  talking  together  about  him, 
telling  what  had  happened  at  the  wedding 
feast  and  in  the  synagogue.  And  one  day  that 
week  he  had  used  Peter's  fishing-boat  for  a 
pulpit,  sitting  in  it  a  little  way  from  the  land, 
while  the  congregation  stood  upon  the  shore. 
And  after  the  sermon  he  had  gone  out  on  the 
lake  with  Peter  and  Andrew,  and  James  and 
John,  while  they  fished ;  and  they  caught  so 
many  fish  that  their  net  brake,  and  even  the 
boats  were  filled  so  full  that  they  began  to 
sink.  After  that,  the  fishermen  fished  no  more 
for  a  long  time,  but  went  about  everywhere 
with  Jesus.  People  knew  that,  and  talked 
about  it. 

So  when  our  Lord  entered,  everybody  in 
church  turned  around  to  see  him.  "  The 
prophet  has  come,"  they  whispered.  "  There 
he  is  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples."  And, 
naturally  enough,  when  the  time  came  for 
reading  the  Bible  in  the  service,  Jesus  was 
called  upon  to  read  and  preach:  and  so  he 
did,  and  they  were  all  astonished  at  his  teach- 
ing. Did  you  ever  hear  anybody  speak  in  a 


114  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

very  loud  and  unnatural  voice,  as  if  he  were 
speaking  a  piece,  and  then  somebody  else 
speak  quietly  and  naturally  as  if  he  were  talk- 
ing just  to  you  ?  That  is  like  the  difference  be- 
tween the  sermons  which  were  usually  preached 
in  the  synagogue,  and  the  sermons  which  our 
Lord  preached. 

Now  there  was  in  the  synagogue  that  morn- 
ing a  man  with  an  unclean  spirit ;  or,  as  we 
would  say,  a  lunatic.  The  mind  is  still  a  deep 
mystery  to  us,  even  after  all  the  wisdom  of 
the  wisest  men.  A  diseased  mind  still  per- 
plexes the  doctors.  In  that  day,  they  said  of 
some  such  persons  that  they  had  a  devil; 
meaning  that  an  evil  spirit  dwelt  within  them 
and  spoke  with  their  lips,  and  threw  them 
into  fits,  and  tormented  them.  Nowadays, 
the  doctors  speak  of  a  subliminal  self  and  a 
dual  personality,  meaning  practically  tne  same 
thing.  Only  now,  people  who  have  evil  spirits 
are  not  allowed  to  go  to  church,  but  are  shut 
up  in  hospitals.  This  poor  man  had  an  un- 
clean spirit ;  that  is,  in  addition  to  the  man's 
own  natural  self,  there  was  another  self  — 


A  DAY  OF  THE  KING'S  LIFE         115 

another  spirit — which  would  take  possession 
of  him. 

There  he  sat,  then,  in  the  synagogue  among 
his  neighbors,  a  miserable  being,  and  our  Lord 
spoke,  and  the  man  listened.  And  suddenly 
the  other  self  cried  out,  "  Let  us  alone ;  let 
us  alone.  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  Art  thou  come  to  destroy 
us  ?  I  know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One 
of  God !  "  And  Jesus  rebuked  him,  saying, 
"Hold  thy  peace,  and  come  out  of  him." 
And  the  man  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  when 
he  came  to  his  senses  again,  his  other  self,  the 
evil  spirit,  had  gone  out  of  him.  That  was  an 
interesting  thing  to  happen  in  church  during 
the  sermon  ! 

Some  of  the  people  did  not  like  it  at  all, 
feeling  that  he  ought  not  to  have  done  it  on 
the  sabbath.  They  were  very  careful  about 
the  way  in  which  they  kept  the  sabbath,  and 
had  made  a  great  many  rules  about  it,  so  that 
the  day  which  God  made  for  people  to  rest  in, 
and  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  in,  had  become  like 
a  day  in  jail.  Our  Lord  paid  no  attention  to 


116  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

these  rules,  but  lived  as  naturally  and  freely 
on  that  day  as  on  any  other.  He  said  that  the 
sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the 
sabbath,  and  that  they  kept  the  holy  day  in 
the  holiest  way  who  made  it  a  beautiful  and 
happy  day  for  themselves  and  for  their  neigh- 
bors. And  the  people  did  not  like  it.  They 
said  nothing  that  sabbath  in  Capernaum,  but 
they  thought  much.  Afterwards,  it  was  one 
of  the  chief  matters  of  complaint  against  him. 
But  many  of  the  congregation  were  greatly 
pleased  and  astonished,  partly  by  the  sermon 
and  partly  by  the  miracle.  "  What  thing  is 
this?"  they  cried;  "what  new  teaching  is 
this  ?  He  speaks  even  to  the  unclean  spirits 
and  they  obey  him." 

So  they  stood  talking  on  the  steps  of  the 
meeting-house,  watching  him  as  he  walked 
with  his  disciples  down  the  street,  the  man 
who  had  been  cured  walking  with  them.  He 
was  to  dine  that  day  at  Peter's  house.  But 
there  was  sickness  in  the  family.  Peter  was 
married,  and  his  wife's  mother  made  her  home 
with  them,  and  she  had  a  fever.  Peter's  wife 


A  DAY  OF  THE  KING'S  LIFE         117 

had  stayed  at  home  from  church  to  take  care» 
of  her.  And  now  she  met  them  at  the  door 
with  a  troubled  face.  And  Peter  said,  "  How 
is  your  mother  ? "  And  she  said,  "  Much 
worse."  And  our  Lord  said,  "What  is  it? 
What  is  the  matter?"  And  they  told  him. 
And  he  went  in  where  the  sick  woman  lay, 
and  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  lifted  her  up. 
And  she  was  strong  and  well  again,  and  rose 
and  ministered  to  them.  She  went  into  the 
kitchen  and  helped  to  get  the  dinner. 

That  afternoon,  the  news  went  from  house 
to  house  through  all  the  town,  and  that  night, 
after  the  sun  was  set  and  the  air  was  cool, 
and  the  sabbath  day  was  over,  they  brought 
to  him  all  the  sick  folk  of  the  neighborhood, 
some  on  beds  and  some  on  crutches,  crowding 
all  the  street  before  the  house.  And  the  Lord 
came  out  and  stood  in  the  front  door,  and  laid 
his  hands  on  many  of  them  and  healed  them. 

Thus  the  busy  day  was  ended  amidst  the 
thanks  of  grateful  people,  but  there  were 
many  others  like  it.  Day  by  day  Jesus  went 
about  doing  good.  His  heart  was  full  of  com- 


118  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

passion,  and  he  was  very  sorry  when  he  saw 
anybody  in  trouble.  He  was  not  the  only  per- 
son who  was  curing  the  sick  by  a  word  and  a 
touch,  and  casting  out  devils.  Many  ministers 
were  doing  that,  and  many  people  have  done 
the  same  since,  even  to  this  day.  It  has  always 
been  wonderful,  this  effect  of  a  strong  mind 
on  a  weak  body.  Even  now  the  men  of  sci- 
ence do  not  understand  it.  It  is  one  among 
many  strange  facts  which  nobody  is  able  to 
explain.  What  we  do  understand  is  that  our 
Lord  was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  pity  and 
mercy.  The  Son  of  God,  who  by  his  life  and 
words  taught  us  about  God,  was  full  of  kind- 
ness and  affection  for  the  sons  of  men.  That 
is  the  meaning  of  the  miracles,  and  it  is  more 
important  than  any  miracle. 

The  next  morning,  rising  up  a  great  while 
before  day,  he  went  out  and  departed  into  a 
solitary  place,  and  there  prayed.  There  Peter 
and  the  others  found  him,  and  said,  "All 
men  seek  for  thee."  And  he  answered,  "  Let 
us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach 
there  also,  for  therefore  came  I  forth." 


in 

THE  BROKEN  ROOF 

So  the  King  went  to  the  next  towns,  and 
then  to  others  farther  off :  but  rarely  very  far. 
Most  of  this  part  of  his  ministry  was  spent  so 
near  the  Lake  of  Galilee  that  from  every  hill 
he  could  look  back  and  see  the  shining  of  the 
blue  water.  His  new  friends,  the  fishermen, 
went  with  him,  making  a  pleasant  company 
as  they  walked  and  talked  along  the  green 
ways,  and  sat  at  noon  in  the  cool  of  the  great 
trees.  And  the  King  stood  in  the  market- 
places of  the  little  towns  and  spoke  to  the 
people  who  were  gathered  there,  telling  them 
always  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  at 
hand,  and  that  if  they  wished  to  see  it  they 
must  put  away  their  sins,  and  that  whoever 
saw  it  would  find  it  beautiful  and  satisfying 
beyond  all  imagination ;  and  this  was  called 
the  gospel ;  that  is,  the  good  news,  —  for  that 
is  what  the  word  means.  So  he  went  about 
telling  the  good  news.  And  in  all  the  places  he 


120  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

found  sick  people,  on  whom  he  laid  his  hands 
that  he  might  make  them  well.  This  he  pre- 
ferred to  do  quietly  and  privately,  for  he  did 
not  like  excitement,  or  crowds,  or  to  have  peo- 
ple staring  at  him.  Sometimes  he  asked  the 
sick  not  to  tell  who  healed  them ;  but  they 
were  usually  so  very  happy  and  thankful  that 
they  could  not  keep  it  to  themselves.  And 
the  result  was  that  our  Lord  could  not  stay 
any  longer  in  the  towns,  but  walked  in  the 
country  among  the  farms. 

One  day,  however,  he  came  back  to  Caper- 
naum, and  went  into  a  house,  probably  Peter's 
house.  And  people  heard  that  he  was  there, 
and  again  the  street  before  the  house  was 
crowded,  though  this  time  the  crowd  was 
mostly  made  up  of  well  people.  Some  who 
had  come  that  other  day  on  crutches  were 
now  walking  as  briskly  as  if  they  had  gone  on 
two  feet  all  their  lives.  And  Jesus  preached 
to  them.  He  preached  the  gospel  to  the  poor, 
and  deliverance  to  those  held  captive  by  false- 
hood or  by  sin,  and  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord.  There  they  stood  listening. 


THE  BROKEN  ROOF  121 

Now  there  was  a  young  man  in  Capernaum 
who  was  paralyzed  so  that  he  could  not  walk. 
It  may  be  that  he  could  not  even  talk,  for  in 
the  midst  of  all  the  wonders  of  that  day  he 
seems  to  have  said  nothing.  We  may  guess  that 
he  was  a  young  man,  for  we  shall  presently 
hear  our  Lord  calling  him  "  Son  ;  "  and  our 
Lord  was  only  thirty  years  of  age.  He  was 
a  young  man,  then,  looking  forward  to  a 
long  life  of  uselessness  and  pain.  Moreover, 
lying  as  he  did  day  after  day,  much  of  the 
time  alone,  he  had  opportunity  to  think,  and 
there  were  thoughts  in  his  heart  which  had  not 
come  to  him  when  he  was  strong  and  active, 
busy  with  work  and  play.  He  learned,  as  he 
lay  there,  that  he  was  sick  in  his  soul  as  well 
as  in  his  body.  He  began  to  realize  his  sins. 
He  began  to  see  that,  while  it  is  bad  enough 
to  have  a  lame  body,  it  is  much  worse  to  have 
a  pale,  thin,  weak,  and  lame  soul.  And  when  he 
prayed  God  to  make  him  well,  he  asked  to  be 
free  not  only  from  his  palsy  but  from  his  sins. 

The  young  man  had  four  friends.  And 
when  they  heard  that  our  Lord  was  come 


122  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

again  to  town,  they  met  together.  "  The  Pro- 
phet is  here,"  they  said  one  to  another,  "  he 
is  in  Peter's  house.  You  know  what  happened 
that  morning  in  the  synagogue,  and  that  even- 
ing in  the  street  in  front  of  Peter's  house ; 
how  he  healed  the  sick.  Let  us  take  our 
friend  to  him  that  he  may  lay  his  hand  on 
him  and  heal  him."  So  they  came  in  with 
this  great  plan,  and  there  on  his  bed  lay  the 
sick  man.  It  was  a  very  simple  bed,  only  a 
quilt  or  a  blanket  spread  upon  the  floor ;  and 
they  took  each  man  a  corner  and  carried  him 
out  into  the  street.  But  as  they  came  near  to 
Peter's  house,  they  saw  the  crowd.  It  was  a 
great  crowd,  filling  all  the  street,  and  it  was 
plain  that  they  could  not  get  through  it. 
There  was  the  Master  in  the  house,  but  they 
could  not  reach  him.  What  should  they  do  ? 
The  wide  door  was  open,  and  the  Master  sat 
within,  but  a  hundred  people  stood  between. 
How  could  they  come  into  his  presence  ? 

The  house,  like  the  other  houses,  was  but 
a  single  story  high,  and  the  roof  was  flat. 
There  was  an  outside  stairway  leading  up ;  for 


THE  BROKEN  ROOF  123 

the  roof  was  a  cool  place  in  hot  days ;  the  lake 
winds  swept  across  it.  People  sat  on  the  roof 
in  that  country,  as  we  sit  on  the  porch.  So 
the  men  climbed  up.  Up  they  went  with  much 
difficulty,  the  two  who  were  ahead  bending 
down,  and  the  two  who  were  behind  holding 
their  arms  up,  to  keep  the  palsied  man  from 
falling  out.  And  when  they  got  upon  the  roof, 
what  did  they  do  but  begin  to  break  a  hole  in 
it.  They  kicked  with  their  heels  and  pulled 
with  their  hands,  and  the  people  below  heard 
a  great  noise  going  on  above,  and  pretty  soon 
splinters  began  to  fall  upon  their  heads,  and 
there,  as  they  looked  up,  was  a  man's  strong 
hand,  and  his  arm  and  shoulder,  and  by  and 
by  his  face,  and  at  last  there  were  the  faces 
of  four  men  looking  down  through  a  large 
opening.  And  the  four  took  the  blanket  and 
let  the  sick  man  down  through  the  broken  roof, 
right  at  the  Master's  feet. 

Our  Lord  looked  at  them  and  then  at  him. 
He  was  glad  to  see  how  sure  they  were  that 
he  would  help  them.  And  the  young  man's 
face  was  like  an  open  book,  and  his  eyes 


124  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

prayed,  though  his  lips  were  still.  His  eyes 
said,  "  Lord,  help  me.  Help  me  to  get  rid  of 
my  sins  and  of  my  sickness."  But  his  sins 
troubled  him  most.  And  our  Lord  answered  the 
longing  of  the  sick  man's  heart.  "  Son,"  he 
said,  "  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee."  For  that 
was  a  part  of  the  gospel  which  he  preached, 
—  that  our  Father  in  heaven  forgives  the  sins 
of  all  those  who  are  truly  sorry  and  wish  to 
be  better.  So  he  said,  speaking  very  kindly 
and  affectionately,  "  Son,  thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee."  For  he  knew  that  the  soul  is  the  most 
important  part  of  a  man,  and  that  to  have  a 
sick  soul  is  the  worst  of  all  possible  ills ;  and 
he  ministered  to  the  sick  soul  before  he  did 
anything  about  the  sick  body. 

But  in  the  house  were  certain  scribes  sit- 
ting. A  scribe  is  a  man  who  writes,  as  a  pro- 
phet is  a  man  who  speaks  :  that  is  what  the 
names  mean.  And  there  is  a  wider  difference 
than  that.  The  words  which  the  prophets 
spoke  were  new  words,  which  they  had  heard 
from  God  ;  but  the  words  which  the  scribes 
wrote  were  old  words,  copied  out  of  old  books, 


LETTING   DOWN   THE   SICK    MAN 


THE  BROKEN  ROOF  125 

mostly  out  of  old  law  books.  The  prophet 
was  a  man  of  the  present  and  of  the  future, 
but  the  scribe  was  a  man  of  the  past.  The 
scribes  were  very  conservative  persons ;  that 
is,  they  liked  to  have  everything  go  on  in  the 
old  way,  by  rule.  Already,  they  had  begun 
to  distrust  and  dislike  our  Lord  because  he 
spoke,  not  as  one  who  is  reciting  a  dull  les- 
son, but  as  one  who  is  telling  what  he  thinks 
himself.  And  when  the  scribes  heard  him 
say,  "  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,"  they  were 
shocked  greatly.  They  began  to  whisper 
among  themselves,  saying,  "  Who  is  this  that 
speaks  thus  in  the  place  of  God  ?  Who  can 
forgive  sins  but  God  only  ?  "  And  Jesus  read 
their  minds  as  he  had  read  the  eyes  of  the  sick 
man.  And  he  said  unto  them,  "  Why  reason  ye 
these  things  in  your  hearts  ?  Which  is  easier 
to  say,  '  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,'  or  to  say, 
'  Rise  up  and  walk  ?  '  But  that  ye  may  know 
that  the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to 
forgive  sins,"  —  turning  to  the  sick  man  :  "  I 
say  unto  thee,  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and 
go  thy  way  into  thine  house."  And  immedi- 


126  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

ately  the  man  arose  and  took  up  his  blanket, 
and  went  forth  before  them  all ;  the  crowd 
parting  to  let  him  through,  all  being  amazed 
and  saying,  "We  have  seen  strange  things 
to-day." 

Long  after,  our  Lord  said  to  his  disciples 
that  they  were  to  do  just  as  he  had  done ; 
when  they  saw  a  sinner  who  was  sorry  for  his 
sins,  they  were  to  assure  him  of  the  forgive- 
ness of  God.  And  the  sins,  he  said,  which 
you  shall  thus  forgive  shall  be  forgiven  in 
heaven.  But  the  scribes  looked  in  their  old 
books,  and  though  they  found  something  about 
the  priests  in  the  temple  forgiving  sins,  they 
found  nothing  which  seemed  to  them  to  jus- 
tify our  Lord's  great  words.  And  the  deed  of 
mercy  which  he  did  served  only  to  embitter 
them  against  him. 


IV 
THE  POOL  OF  THE  ANGEL 

I  SAID  that  our  Lord,  at  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry,  stayed  most  of  the  time  near  the 
Lake  of  Galilee.  But  the  great  days  came  as 
the  year  went  round,  —  the  great  days  of  the 
church,  —  when  all  who  could  get  away  from 
home  made  a  journey  to  the  temple.  So  our 
Lord  went  also  to  pray  in  the  great  church 
which  they  called  the  house  of  God.  And 
one  day  there  was  a  feast  of  the  Jews,  and 
all  the  roads  to  Jerusalem  were  filled  with 
pilgrims  on  their  way  to  church,  and  Jesus 
and  his  disciples  went  up  with  them. 

The  temple  stood  on  a  rocky  hill,  looking 
out  over  all  the  country  round.  At  the  foot 
of  the  hill  there  was  a  spring,  and  a  little 
stream  of  cold  water  running  out  of  it.  They 
had  a  sheep  market  by  the  side  of  the  stream, 
for  the  sheep  were  thirsty  after  being  driven 
in  over  dusty  roads  out  of  the  country.  There 
was  always  a  flock  of  them  with  their  noses 


128  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

in  the  water  drinking,  and  there  were  men 
buying  and  selling.  But  besides  the  shepherds 
and  the  men  who  were  buying  sheep,  there 
were  always  other  people  who  were  there,  not 
for  that  business,  but  for  medicine.  Amongst 
the  shepherds,  and  the  butchers,  and  the  priests 
who  were  getting  lambs  for  the  sacrifices  at 
the  temple,  were  sick  folks  in  great  numbers, 
some  of  them  blind,  some  of  them  lame,  who 
had  come  to  bathe  in  the  spring. 

The  water  bubbled  up  out  of  the  ground 
in  a  great  pool.  And  beside  the  pool  was  a. 
porch  with  five  arches.  And  the  sick  people 
lay  on  blankets  in  the  porch  waiting  for  the 
moving  of  the  water.  For  this  was  a  strange 
pool.  Sometimes  the  water  lay  so  still  that 
the  sick  folks  could  use  it  for  a  looking-glass 
and  could  see  their  thin  and  anxious  faces  in 
it  —  all  but  the  blind  ones.  But  presently 
there  would  be  a  great  commotion  in  the 
water,  as  if  somebody  were  blowing  it  with 
the  breath  of  a  giant,  or  were  stirring  it  with 
a  huge  stick.  And  some  people  thought  that 
this  was  caused  by  an  angel  going  down  into 


THE   POOL  OF  THE  ANGEL  129 

the  clear  pool.  And  as  soon  as  this  happened, 
all  the  sick  people  scrambled  down  as  best 
they  could  into  the  water,  and  the  sickest 
were  helped  down  by  their  friends.  The  idea 
was  that  whoever  got  in  first  would  be  made 
whole  of  whatsoever  disease  he  had.  It  must 
have  been  a  strange  sight,  that  crowd  of  mis- 
erable people  limping  and  crawling  and  rolling 
down  into  the  pool. 

Now  one  day  our  Lord  came  by,  and  he 
was  very  sorry,  for  his  heart  was  always  full 
of  compassion  for  those  who  were  in  trouble. 
It  made  him  sad,  too,  to  see  them  struggling 
so  one  against  another,  each  trying  to  be  the 
first  and  to  get  the  blessing  for  himself.  So 
he  stopped  and  looked.  And  there  among  the 
crowd  he  saw  one  man  who  had  been  sick 
longer  than  the  others.  He  had  had  an  in- 
firmity thirty  and  eight  years  ;  he  had  hardly 
had  a  well  day  since  he  was  a  boy.  There  he 
lay  close  by  the  pool,  waiting  for  the  angel, 
but  waiting  always  in  vain  ;  for  when  the 
spring  began  to  stir  somebody  else  always  got 
in  before  him.  When  Jesus  saw  him  lie  there, 


130  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

and  knew  that  he  had  been  now  a  long  time  in 
that  condition,  he  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  wish 
to  get  well?"  To  get  well!  That  was  what  the 
man  desired  with  all  his  heart,  though  he  had 
almost  ceased  to  hope.  So  he  answered,  "  Sir, 
I  am  a  poor  man  and  I  have  no  friends.  When 
the  water  is  beginning  to  stir,  I  have  no  man 
to  put  me  into  the  pool ;  but  while  I  am  com- 
ing, another  steps  down  before  me."  Then  our 
Lord  said,  "  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  walk." 

And  immediately  the  man  started  to  get  up. 
That  shows  that  he  had  great  faith  in  our  Lord. 
He  had  never  seen  him  before ;  probably  he  had 
never  even  heard  of  him  ;  but  he  saw  him  now 
and  heard  his  voice,  and  he  believed  in  him  with 
all  his  heart.  Some  men  would  have  said, 
"  Why,  I  can't  do  that.  You  don't  know  how 
sick  I  am.  I  have  been  lame  all  my  life,  almost 
forty  years.  I  can't  get  up."  But  this  man  tried. 
When  Jesus  told  him  to  get  up,  he  tried  to  do 
it.  And  when  he  tried,  God  gave  him  strength. 
So  he  took  up  his  bed  and  walked. 

But  it  happened  that  that  day  was  the  sab- 
bath. You  remember  that  the  people  had  made 


THE  POOL  OF  THE  ANGEL          131 

themselves  a  great  many  rules  about  it.  The 
commandments  said  that  nobody  should  work 
on  that  day,  meaning  that  there  should  be  a 
good  holiday  every  week,  and  that  all  people, 
especially  those  who  worked  very  hard,  should 
have  a  rest.  But  the  ministers  had  been  so 
anxious  that  the  day  should  be  a  rest  day  that 
they  had  tried  to  keep  the  people  from  doing 
anything  at  all.  They  had  spoiled  the  beau- 
tiful day.  One  of  their  rules  was  that  it  was 
wrong  to  carry  anything  during  the  sabbath. 
So  when  they  saw  this  man,  with  his  glad  face, 
leaping  up  and  down  as  he  walked,  first  on 
one  leg  and  then  on  the  other  to  make  sure 
that  they  were  both  sound  and  strong,  and 
carrying  his  bed  rolled  up  in  a  bundle  under 
his  arm,  they  stopped  him.  They  said,  "  It  is 
the  sabbath  day ;  it  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to 
carry  thy  bed."  He  answered  them,  "I  have 
been  a  sick  man,  lying  on  my  bed  for  eight 
and  thirty  years,  and  to-day  I  have  been  cured 
at  the  pool  of  the  angel.  He  that  made  me 
whole,  the  same  said  unto  me,  'Take  up  thy 
bed  and  walk.' '  Then  they  asked  him  in  an 


132  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

angry  voice,  "  What  man  is  that  which  said 
unto  thee,  i  Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk  ? ' 
They  did  not  think  at  all  what  a  good  and 
wonderful  and  blessed  thing  it  was  that  this 
poor  neighbor  of  theirs  had  been  made  well. 
All  that  they  thought  of  was  that  one  of 
their  little  rules  had  been  broken.  They  were 
angry  with  the  man  for  being  healed,  and  with 
our  Lord  for  having  healed  him. 

All  this  seems  very  strange  to  us,  though 
there  are  still  people  who  care  more  for  their 
own  way  than  they  do  for  the  bodies  or  even  for 
the  souls  of  their  fellow-men.  Such  persons 
made  many  a  complaint  during  our  Lord's 
ministry,  for  he  went  straight  on  doing  good 
deeds,  no  matter  what  day  of  the  week  it  was. 
One  sabbath  day  he  was  in  a  synagogue,  and  a 
man  was  there  who  had  a  withered  hand,  and 
they  watched  him  whether  he  would  heal  him 
on  the  sabbath  day,  that  they  might  accuse  him. 
And  he  called  the  man  to  come  and  stand  up 
where  all  could  see  him.  So  there  he  stood, 
the  poor  man  with  his  useless  arm.  "  Now," 
he  said,  "  say  what  is  in  your  hearts.  Is  it 


THE  POOL  OF  THE  ANGEL           133 

lawful  to  do  good  on  the  sabbath  days  ?  "  And 
they  said  never  a  word.  And  he  looked  around 
upon  them  all  with  deep  indignation,  being 
grieved  because  their  hearts  were  so  hard  that 
they  thought  of  their  rules  rather  than  of  the 
need  of  the  man.  And  he  said  to  the  man, 
"  Stretch  forth  thine  hand."  And  he  stretched 
it  out ;  and  his  hand  was  restored  whole  as  the 
other. 

But  the  man  who  came  from  the  pool  of  the 
angel  did  not  know  who  our  Lord  was;  so 
when  they  said,  "  Who  told  you  to  carry  your 
bed  on  the  sabbath  day?"  he  could  not  an- 
swer ;  for  our  Lord  had  gone  away  through 
the  crowd.  Afterwards  Jesus  found  the  man 
in  the  temple,  and  said  unto  him,  "  Behold, 
thou  art  made  whole :  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worse 
thing  come  unto  thee ; "  meaning  that  sin  is 
worse  than  sickness,  and  that  disease  of  the 
soul  is  a  worse  thing  than  disease  of  the  body. 
But  the  Jews  not  only  hated  our  Lord  for 
what  he  had  done,  but  from  that  day  forth 
they  sought  to  kill  him,  because  he  had  done 
these  things  on  the  sabbath  day. 


THE  KING    STOPS  A  FUNERAL 

You  remember  that  Nazareth  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  hills,  and  that  on  the  south  lay  a 
wide  plain.  From  the  Nazareth  heights,  across 
the  plain,  one  could  see  the  white  houses  of 
a  village  called  Nain,  built  on  a  hillside.  In 
this  village  there  lived  a  poor  widow  with  her 
only  son.  One  day  this  son,  his  mother's  con- 
solation and  hope  and  support,  fell  sick  and 
died.  It  was  very  sad,  and  everybody  in  the 
viUage  was  full  of  sympathy  for  the  mother, 
so  that  when  the  day  came  for  the  funeral 
there  was  a  great  company  of  people  to  join 
their  tears  with  hers. 

The  word  Nain  means  "  pleasant ; "  and 
pleasant  it  was,  indeed,  amidst  the  trees,  look- 
ing out  north  and  east  and  west  toward  the 
high  mountains,  and  even  having  a  glimpse, 
when  the  sun  was  shining,  of  the  blue  sea. 
But  the  poor  mother  did  not  look  at  the  view, 
nor  did  she  know  whether  the  sky  above  her 


THE  KING  STOPS  A  FUNERAL       135 

head   was  black    or   white.    Everything   was 
dark  before  her  eyes. 

A  rough,  steep  path  led  up  the  hill  to  the 
village.  And  down  this  path  came  the  funeral 
procession :  first  mourning  women  making  a 
loud  lamentation,  then  young  men  carrying 
the  body  on  a  wide  flat  board,  then  the  mother, 
and  after  her  the  people  of  the  town.  But  as 
they  started  to  go  down,  another  and  very 
different  company  started  to  go  up.  There 
was  quite  a  crowd  of  these  people,  some  from 
Capernaum,  some  from  the  country  round 
about,  fishermen  and  farmers  in  rough  clothes, 
and  among  them  one  who  was  dressed  as  they 
were,  but  to  whom  they  all  gave  reverence. 
And  as  they  went  he  talked,  while  they  all 
listened  eagerly.  And  there  they  met,  on  the 
side  of  the  hill,  in  the  middle  of  the  rocky 
path,  —  the  procession  of  mourners  and  he 
who  came,  as  he  said,  to  bind  up  the  broken- 
hearted. So  our  Lord  saw  the  poor  mother, 
and  was  very  sorry.  And  immediately  he  said 
what  we  all  say  when  we  see  any  one  cry- 
ing. He  said,  "  Don't  cry ;  "  only,  when  we  say 


136  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

that,  our  friends  go  on  crying  just  the  same, 
and  we  cannot  do  anything  except  show  our 
sympathy.  When  our  Lord  said,  "  Don't  cry," 
he  knew  how  to  change  tears  into  smiles. 
For  he  put  out  his  hand  and  touched  the 
hier ;  he  touched  the  board  on  which  the 
dead  man  lay.  And  they  who  bare  him  stood 
still.  And  the  mother  stopped  in  her  sad 
journey,  and  looked  up  to  see  what  it  all 
meant,  and  the  people  of  the  two  companies 
crowded  around.  And  our  Lord  said,  "  Young 
man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise."  And  he  that 
was  dead  sat  up  and  began  to  speak.  What 
did  he  say?  Did  he  finish  some  sentence 
which  death  had  suddenly  interrupted  ?  Or 
did  he  greet  his  mother  as  one  who  comes 
back  from  a  strange  journey  ?  Or  was  his  first 
word  a  thanksgiving  to  the  one  who  had  thus 
enabled  him  to  go  on  caring  for  his  mother  ? 
It  is  all  unknown  to  us.  It  is  all  a  mystery ; 
both  the  words  which  he  spoke,  and  the  power 
which  made  him  able  to  speak. 

But  this  we  know :  that  our  Lord   cared. 
Sometimes  death  comes  in  such  a  way  that  it 


JESUS   RAISING  THE   WIDOW   OF    NAIN'S   SON 


THE  KING  STOPS  A  FUNERAL       137 

seems  as  if  God  does  not  care ;  when  the 
young  and  strong,  who  are  so  much  loved  and 
so  much  needed,  are  taken  away.  Then  we 
may  remember  that  day  at  Nain.  God  does 
not  stop  the  funeral,  but  he  cares.  He  is 
sorry  for  those  who  mourn.  For  he  who  came 
up  the  hill  at  Nain  was  in  God,  and  God  in 
him  ;  and  when  we  know  him,  we  know  God, 
as  he  said.  And  this,  too,  we  know  :  that  every 
morning  God  raises  us  from  the  death  of  sleep 
to  the  light  of  a  new  day ;  every  morning  he 
gives  us  back  our  life. 

What  did  the  young  man  of  Nain  do  with 
his  new  life  ?  Our  Lord  told  him  what  to  do 
with  it,  for  he  delivered  him  to  his  mother.  It 
was  like  that  day  on  the  cross  when  he  said, 
uSon,  behold  thy  mother."  He  meant  that 
the  young  man  was  to  be  a  good  son,  obe- 
dient and  loving,  better  than  he  had  ever 
been  before. 

So  the  procession  turned  straight  about, 
and  all  the  mourning  women  stopped  their 
crying  and  wiped  their  eyes ;  and  the  sky 
overhead  was  blue,  with  the  sun  shining  in 


138  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

the  midst  of  it ;  and  the  people  glorified  God, 
some  saying,  "  A  great  prophet  is  risen  up 
among  us,"  others,  "  God  hath  visited  his 
people ;  "  and  the  mother  and  her  son  walked 
side  by  side,  and  Jesus  was  with  them. 


VI 

THE  STILLING  OF  A  STORM 

ANOTHER  time,  our  Lord  had  been  teaching 
all  day  long,  and  as  the  sun  began  to  go  down 
he  was  very  tired,  but  the  people  would  not 
go  away.  They  begged  him  to  continue  speak- 
ing ;  and  he  knew  that  if  he  walked  away 
they  would  all  follow  him.  But  the  place 
where  he  was  teaching  was  by  the  side  of  the 
lake.  Probably  he  sat  in  a  boat  anchored  near 
the  shore,  as  he  often  did.  His  favorite  pulpit 
was  a  boat.  There  was  one  way  to  get  apart 
from  the  crowd,  and  that  was  to  row  out  into 
the  lake.  Our  Lord  beckoned  therefore  to  Peter 
or  John  and  told  him  to  take  up  the  anchor 
and  row  out ;  though  even  then  the  people  ran 
down  and  got  all  the  boats  which  were  fastened 
there,  and  rowed  out  after  him.  But  they  were 
all  so  interested  in  our  Lord's  great  words,  and 
so  intent  on  keeping  as  near  him  as  they  could, 
that  not  one  of  them  looked  at  the  sky.  So 
when  the  storm  came,  it  took  them  unawares. 


140  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

The  water  is  a  bad  place  for  a  storm.  Up 
comes  the  fierce  wind  and  blows  and  blows, 
and  the  sky  is  black  with  hanging  clouds. 
Up  come  the  threatening  waves,  each  with  its 
white  cap,  blustering  about.  And  the  boat 
rolls  and  tosses,  and  turns  this  way  and  that. 
And  sometimes  the  water  gets  into  it  and 
down  it  goes ;  and  sometimes  the  wind  tips  the 
boat  over,  and  throws  the  people  into  the 
water  so  that  they  never  come  up  again.  But 
all  this  is  very  dreadful  indeed  when  the  dan- 
ger appears  suddenly,  because  nobody  is  ready 
for  it.  The  waves  are  peaceful  and  pleasant, 
and  the  boat  is  going  quietly  along,  when  all 
at  once  the  wind  comes  leaping  down  from 
some  opening  in  the  hills  along  the  shore,  as 
if  it  had  taken  a  quick  run  to  get  a  start  and 
then  had  jumped  right  over  into  the  middle 
of  the  water.  And  before  the  people  have 
time  to  think  twice,  the  wind  is  shaking 
them  as  a  giant  might  shake  a  body.  This 
is  the  way  in  which  storms  often  behave  on 
the  Lake  of  Galilee.  And  thus  did  the  storm 
conduct  itself  that  evening  when  our  Lord 


THE  STILLING  OF  A  STORM         141 

and  some  of  his  disciples  had  launched  out 
into  the  deep. 

I  said  that  he  had  been  teaching  all  the 
day  and  was  very  tired.  Boys  and  girls  do  not 
understand  that  teaching  is  hard  work.  They 
do  not  realize  that  their  teachers  get  tired.  It 
seems  to  them  that  the  only  persons  in  the 
school  who  have  a  hard  time  are  those  who  have 
to  study  and  recite.  Teaching  is  not  so  bad 
when  everybody  is  interested  and  responsive. 
Sometimes  children  are  asked,  "  What  do  you 
pay  for  coming  to  this  school  ?  "  And  the  right 
answer  is,  "  We  pay  —  attention  !  "  Teaching 
is  easy  when  all  the  scholars  pay  attention.  All 
the  people  to  whom  our  Lord  spoke  paid  atten- 
tion ;  there  was  no  trouble  about  that.  The 
things  that  he  said  were  so  interesting,  and  he 
said  them  in  such  an  interesting  way,  that  every- 
body was  interested.  But  his  hearers  did  not 
all  like  what  he  said,  as  we  shall  see  by  and 
by.  They  did  not  even  like  what  he  did,  as 
we  have  seen  already.  So  in  every  company 
of  listeners,  there  were  enemies ;  and  as  the 
months  went  by,  the  number  of  them  increased. 


142  WHEN   THE   KING  CAME 

Our  Lord  saw  their  objecting  faces,  and  heard 
them  whisper  one  to  another,  and  it  was  very 
hard. 

So  that  day,  after  hours  of  this  hard  work, 
the  first  thing  that  he  did  as  the  boat  began 
to  move  through  the  water,  and  the  crowd  was 
left  behind,  was  to  go  into  the  stern  of  the  boat 
and  He  down  with  his  head  on  a  cushion.  There 
he  fell  asleep;  and  no  sooner  was  he  fast  asleep 
than  the  storm  came.  Black  clouds  hastened 
from  their  hiding-places  behind  the  hills, 
white  waves  pushed  and  pulled  and  clutched  at 
the  boat,  and  pretty  soon  there  was  so  much 
water  in  the  bottom  of  it  that  some  of  the 
men  had  to  stop  rowing  and  begin  to  bail. 
Still  the  wind  blew  harder  and  harder,  and 
the  waves  roared  louder  and  louder,  and  rose 
higher  and  higher,  and  the  boat  rocked  faster 
and  faster,  and  farther  and  farther.  And  at 
last  the  disciples  were  very  much  afraid.  They 
had  been  on  that  lake  every  day  since  they 
were  little  boys,  and  had  weathered  many  a 
storm  :  but  it  seemed  as  if  they  had  never  seen 
a  tempest  like  this.  The  water  poured  in  faster 


THE   STILLING  OF  A  STORM          143 

than  they  could  bail  it  out.  It  began  to  look 
as  if  the  boat,  and  all  who  were  in  it,  must 
go  to  the  bottom. 

Meanwhile,  our  Lord  was  still  asleep.  The 
howling  of  the  wind  had  not  awakened  him, 
nor  the  pitching  of  the  boat,  nor  even  the  cold 
water  splashing  over  him.  It  shows  how  tired 
he  was. 

Finally,  the  disciples  called  to  him  with 
loud  voices ;  "  Master,  Master,"  they  cried, 
"we  perish."  And  some  said,  "Master,  we 
perish ;  save  us."  Who  ever  heard  anything 
like  that  ?  A  crew  of  fishermen,  who  knew  all 
about  a  boat  and  all  about  a  storm,  turned 
for  assistance  to  a  carpenter  !  Of  what  use  is 
a  carpenter  in  an  open  boat  on  a  high  sea  ? 
You  remember  that  Jesus  was  brought  up  in 
a  hill  town,  where  the  only  water  was  in  the 
bottom  of  the  village  well.  It  is  not  likely 
that  he  had  had  any  experience  in  boats.  And 
the  fishermen  knew  that.  This  is  what  makes 
it  so  remarkable  that  they  should  have  called 
for  help  from  him.  It  shows  that  they  had  al- 
ready come  to  see  that  he  was  the  wisest  and 


144  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

the  strongest  and  the  best  man  they  had  ever 
known.  They  felt  that  only  God  could  save 
them ;  and  that  Jesus  was  very  near  to  God. 
So  they  cried,  waking  him.  out  of  his  deep 
sleep,  "  Master,  Master,  we  sink  !  save  us !  " 
And  he  arose,  and  rebuked  the  wind,  and 
said  unto  the  sea,  "Peace,  be  still."  And 
the  wind  ceased,  and  there  was  a  great  calm. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  "Why  are  ye  so 
fearful?  How  is  it  that  ye  have  no  faith?" 
Then  they  were  almost  as  much  afraid  of  him 
as  they  had  been  of  the  sea,  saying  one  to  an- 
other as  the  waves  went  down,  u  What  manner 
of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  wind  and  the  sea 
obey  him  ?  " 

Afterwards,  when  they  told  this  story,  there 
was  another  which  they  liked  to  tell  with  it ; 
about  how  one  time  some  of  the  disciples 
were  rowing  by  themselves  one  evening  on 
the  lake,  having  left  our  Lord  on  the  shore ; 
and  suddenly  the  wind  began  to  blow  and  the 
waves  began  to  rise,  and  they  rowed  and 
rowed  and  got  no  nearer  to  the  shore  ;  and 
then  they  saw  a  dim  light  out  across  the  water, 


THE  STILLING  OF  A  STORM         145 

and  it  seemed  to  move  and  to  draw  near  to 
them,  and  there  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  was 
a  man  walking  on  the  water ;  and  they  were 
filled  with  great  fear,  and  cried,  "It  is  a  ghost !  " 
but  the  man  spoke  in  a  voice  which  they 
knew,  saying,  "  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid ; "  and 
there  was  our  Lord  walking  across  the  wet 
waves  as  if  he  were  walking  through  the  grass 
of  a  meadow.  So  he  got  into  the  boat,  and 
the  wind  ceased  to  blow.  That  is  what  they 
said ;  and  some  added  that  Peter,  seeing  our 
Lord  coming  over  the  lake,  said,  "  Lord,  if  it 
be  thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  on  the 
water ; "  and  he  told  him  to  come.  So  Peter 
began  to  walk  on  the  water ;  but  the  wind  was 
boisterous,  blowing  hard  against  him,  and  the 
water  was  rough,  and  Peter  was  afraid,  and 
as  he"  began  to  fear  he  began  to  sink,  so  that 
he  cried,  "  Lord,  save  me ;  "  and  immediately 
Jesus  stretched  forth  his  hand  and  caught 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  "  0  thou  of  little 
faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?  " 

These  wonderful  stories   have   never  been 
explained  :  but  thus  much  is  plain,  —  that  if 


146  WHEN   THE   KING   CAME 

we  have  Jesus  in  our  company  no  storm  shall 
ever  bring  us  to  shipwreck.  The  winds  of 
disaster  blow,  and  the  waves  of  misfortune 
rise,  and  Jesus  seems  far  distant,  asleep  or  on 
the  shore.  Even  when  he  comes  to  our  assist- 
ance across  the  troubled  water,  the  sight 
seems  too  good  to  be  true,  and  we  cannot 
believe  our  eyes,  thinking  that  we  see  only  a 
vision.  But  it  is  he  himself,  who  has  promised 
to  be  with  us  and  to  help  us,  everywhere  and 
always,  till  all  storms  are  stilled  and  all  our 
boats  are  safe  on  shore. 


VII 
THE  WILD  MAN  OF  GERGESA 

Now  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
where  the  boat  landed  after  the  stilling  of  the 
storm,  the  people  were  all  heathen.  They  were 
Greeks,  probably  descendants  from  soldiers  of 
Alexander,  who  had  settled  there  after  the  wars 
were  over.  The  great  power  of  the  world  at  that 
time,  however,  was  not  Greece  but  Rome ;  so 
there  were  Roman  soldiers  quartered  in  the 
Greek  cities  across  the  lake,  who  protected  the 
people  but  oppressed  them  at  the  same  time. 
The  shore  was  in  many  places  steep  and  rocky, 
with  the  valleys  of  rivers  running  back  into  the 
country ;  and  on  the  shore,  as  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  drew  near  in  the  boat,  they  saw  a 
sight  which  they  could  not  have  seen  any- 
where on  their  own  side  of  the  lake  :  they 
saw  a  great  herd  of  swine  feeding.  You  know 
that  the  Jews  never  ate  pork,  nor  do  they  eat 
it  to  this  day.  So  they  kept  no  pigs.  But  the 


148  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

Greeks  kept  pigs,  and  there  they  were  feeding 
at  the  top  of  the  cliffs. 

Moreover,  as  the  disciples  looked,  they  saw 
something  else  which  they  disliked  to  see,  and 
that  was  a  graveyard.  For  the  Jews  were  very 
particular  as  to  what  they  touched.  They  had  a 
great  desire  to  be  always  pleasing  to  God,  and 
they  thought  that  there  were  some  things  in  the 
world  which  God  objected  to,  and  that  whoever 
even  touched  such  things  must  wash  himself, 
saying  many  prayers,  and  so  make  himself 
clean,  before  God  would  receive  him  again. 
Pigs  were  considered  unclean,  and  pagan  people 
were  unclean,  and  whatever  was  dead  wras  un- 
clean, according  to  their  rules.  When  our  Lord 
put  out  his  hand  and  touched  the  widow's  son 
at  Nain,  many  who  stood  by  thought  it  very 
strange.  They  said  nothing  about  it  in  the 
great  joy  of  the  moment,  but  they  spoke  of  it 
afterwards  and  did  not  like  it.  So  here  were 
three  unclean  things  at  the  same  time  :  it  was 
a  pagan  land,  and  pigs  were  feeding  in  it, 
beside  a  graveyard. 

The  truth  is  that  our  Lord  paid  no  attention 


THE   WILD   MAN   OF  GERGESA        149 

to  these  rules.  One  time  he  spoke  very  plainly 
and  said  that  it  is  not  that  which  enters  a 
man's  lips  by  which  he  is  defiled,  but  that 
which  comes  out :  that  is,  it  does  not  matter 
so  much  what  we  eat  as  what  we  say.  To  speak 
an  evil  word  is  worse  than  to  break  all  the  rules 
about  unclean  things.  And  for  this  the  people 
who  were  in  authority  hated  him.  They  hated 
him  because  he  disregarded  their  distinctions 
between  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  as  they  did 
because  he  cared  so  little  for  their  rules  about 
the  sabbath. 

But  now,  coming  down  from  the  rocks  to 
the  shore,  was  something  worse  than  a  pig  or 
a  pagan  or  a  graveyard :  down  came  a  wild 
man. 

The  wild  man  had  his  dwelling  among  the 
tombs,  living  in  the  holes  in  the  rocks  in  which 
lay  the  bones  of  the  dead.  At  night,  when  it  was 
dark  and  still,  those  who  passed  by  could  hear 
him  crying  and  screaming  in  a  dreadful  voice. 
And  in  the  daytime  anybody  who  came  near 
enough  —  though  most  people  kept  as  far  away 
as  possible  —  could  see  him  running  about 


150  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

and  wringing  his  hands,  and  cutting  himself 
with  sharp  stones  so  that  he  was  covered  with 
blood.  The  man  had  a  home  and  friends,  and 
several  times  his  friends  had  come  and  caught 
him,  and  tried  to  keep  him  from  hurting  him- 
self any  more.  They  had  tied  him  up  with 
ropes  and  even  with  chains  ;  but  every  time  he 
had  broken  loose,  like  Samson,  and  had  got 
away.  There  he  was,  his  hair  blowing  about 
his  face,  jumping  up  and  down,  waving  his 
arms,  crying  out  dreadful  things,  and  making 
his  way  as  fast  as  he  could  along  the  rocks  to 
the  place  where  our  Lord's  boat  was  coming  in. 
It  seemed  a  bad  place  to  land.  No  doubt, 
had  the  disciples  been  by  themselves,  they 
would  have  turned  the  boat  away.  Even  as  it 
was,  they  must  have  trembled,  and  they  prob- 
ably stood  a  little  behind  our  Lord.  But  the  wild 
man,  when  he  came  where  they  were,  did  not  try 
to  hurt  them.  He  fell  down  on  his  knees  on  the 
wet  sand  at  our  Lord's  feet,  crying  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus, 
thou  Son  of  God  most  high  ?  "  For  the  wild 
man  had  an  evil  spirit.  He  was  a  crazy  person. 


•     THE  WILD  MAN  OF  GERGESA        151 

And  our  Lord,  as  the  man  came,  commanded 
the  evil  spirit  to  come  out  of  him.  It  was  the 
man's  other  self,  his  evil  self,  who  spoke.  He 
cried,  "  Do  not  torment  me."  And  Jesus  said, 
"  What  is  your  name  ?  "  And  the  man  said, 
"  Legion."  A  legion  was  a  great  regiment 
of  Roman  soldiers,  and  men  used  the  word 
when  they  meant  a  great  number,  and  when 
they  thought  of  power  and  cruelty.  So  the 
man  said  that  his  name  was  Legion,  meaning 
that  many  evil  spirits  had  their  abode  in  him. 
"  Do  not  torment  us,"  cried  the  spirits,  "  let 
us  go  into  the  swine."  And  suddenly,  as  he 
spoke,  there  was  a  great  commotion  among 
the  swine.  The  crazy  man  rushed  towards 
them,  and  the  drove  of  pigs,  grunting  and 
scrambling,  hurried  away  in  a  fierce  panic,  on 
and  on  towards  the  edge  of  the  steep  cliff, 
and  over  into  the  deep  water.  And  the  men 
who  were  in  charge  of  them,  who  with  all 
their  sticks  and  cries  had  not  been  able  to  pre- 
vent their  mad  plunge  into  the  sea,  ran  as  fast 
as  they  could  go  into  the  near  town,  and  there 
declared  that  a  thousand  devils  had  gone  out 


152  WHEN   THE   KING  CAME 

of  the  crazy  man  into  the  herd  of  swine.  So 
the  owner  came  to  see  what  had  happened, 
and  there  were  the  pigs  drowned  in  the  sea, 
and  the  man  sitting  quiet  and  at  peace  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind. 
And  when  the  disciples  told  them  what  was 
done,  they  were  both  afraid  and  angry ;  for 
they  were  more  concerned  about  their  pigs 
than  they  were  about  the  man.  There  was  the 
poor  man,  their  neighbor,  delivered  from  his 
dreadful  state  ;  but  their  pigs  were  gone.  And 
do  you  know  what  they  did  ?  They  asked  our 
Lord  to  go  away.  They  told  him  that  they  did 
not  want  him  in  their  country.  The  sun  had 
set,  and  it  was  now  growing  dark ;  but  the  dark- 
est place  in  that  neighborhood  was  not  in  the 
midst  of  the  thick  trees,  nor  even  in  the  caves 
of  the  graveyard  where  the  man  had  lived 
among  the  dead ;  it  was  in  the  hearts  of  the 
owners  of  the  swine. 

People  do  not  often  keep  droves  of  pigs, 
nowadays,  in  our  part  of  the  country,  but 
they  keep  other  things.  They  keep  stores, 
and  mills,  and  houses,  and  lands,  and  money. 


THE  WILD  MAN   OF  GERGESA        153 

Whenever  they  think  more  about  getting 
these  things  and  keeping  them  than  about 
the  bodies  and  souls  of  their  fellow-men,  then 
they  are  like  the  people  of  Gergesa,  who  cared 
so  much  for  their  pigs  that  they  sent  our 
Lord  away. 

After  that,  the  man  who  had  been  cured, 
asked  Jesus  that  he  might  join  the  company 
of  his  disciples.  But  Jesus  told  him  that  the 
best  thing  that  he  could  do  was  to  go  back  to 
his  own  home,  to  his  wife  and  children,  and 
his  neighbors,  and  tell  them  what  great  things 
God  had  done  for  him.  So  our  Lord  and  the 
others  got  into  the  boat  and  rowed  away  over 
the  dark  lake,  and  the  man  went  into  the  city 
and  stopped  all  whom  he  met  and  told  them 
of  the  power  and  love  of  Jesus. 


vm 

THE    MINISTER'S    LITTLE    DAUGHTER 

THERE  were  two  kinds  of  churches  in  that 
country :  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  and  the 
synagogues  in  other  places.  There  was  only 
one  temple,  and  it  was  great  and  beautiful,  as 
we  have  seen,  like  a  cathedral,  with  carved 
stone  and  brass.  There  the  Feast  of  the  Pass- 
over, and  the  Feast  of  Pentecost,  and  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  —  like  Easter  and  Whitsunday 
and  Christmas  —  were  celebrated,  and  the 
sacrifices  were  offered.  The  men  who  con- 
ducted these  services  were  called  priests. 
There  were  a  great  many  synagogues;  at 
least,  one  in  every  town  and  village  of  the  Jews' 
own  country,  and  in  every  place  about  the 
world  where  Jews  were  living.  They  looked, 
as  I  have  said,  like  New  England  meeting- 
houses, and  the  services  which  were  held  in 
them  consisted  of  Bible-reading  and  preach- 
ing. The  men  who  conducted  them  were 
called  ministers  and  rulers  of  the  synagogue. 


THE  MINISTER'S   LITTLE   DAUGHTER    155 

Thus  there  was  much  the  same  difference  then 
that  there  is  now  between  priests  and  minis- 
ters. 

One  of  the  ministers  of  the  Capernaum 
synagogue  was  named  Jairus.  He  had  one 
only  daughter,  a  little  girl  of  twelve,  and  she 
was  very  sick,  so  that  day  by  day  she  grew 
worse  rather  than  better,  until  at  last  the 
doctor  had  to  tell  her  father  and  mother  that 
he  could  do  no  more.  She  lay  a-dying.  But 
that  very  morning  our  Lord  came  back  from 
his  hasty  visit  to  the  land  across  the  lake,  and 
found  all  the  people  waiting  for  him.  For 
Jairus  remembered  that  wonderful  sabbath  in 
the  synagogue  when  Jesus  had  cast  out  the 
unclean  spirit,  and  he  felt,  and  his  friends 
felt,  that  our  Lord  might  help  him  in  his  deep 
distress.  So  out  of  the  waiting  crowd  came 
the  minister  as  our  Lord  approached,  and  fell 
down  at  his  feet  and  begged  him  to  come  into 
his  house.  "  My  little  daughter,"  he  said, "  lies 
at  the  point  of  death,  but  come  and  lay  thy 
hand  upon  her  and  she  shall  live;"  and  immedi- 
ately our  Lord  raised  him  up  and  followed  him. 


156  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

But  there  was  a  great  crowd  in  the  street. 
Some  were  there  from  curiosity,  that  they  might 
see  him ;  some  because  they  had  heard  him 
speak  and  wished  to  hear  him  speak  again, 
desiring  to  know  more  about  God  and  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  some  because  they  were  in 
trouble  and  hoped  that  he  might  help  them. 
And  in  the  crowd  that  day  there  was  one 
woman  who  was  in  two  kinds  of  trouble  at  the 
same  time ;  she  was  both  sick  and  poor.  She 
had  spent  all  her  money,  and  she  had  spent 
it  all  upon  the  doctors,  trying  to  get  well,  in 
vain.  The  worst  use  of  money  is  to  spend  it 
for  things  which  make  the  spender  and  his 
friends  sick;  but  the  next  to  the  worst  use 
is  to  spend  it  in  seeking  for  health  without 
finding  it.  This  poor  woman  had  gone  to 
one  physician  after  another.  Every  doctor  in 
Capernaum  had  knocked  at  her  door;  and 
not  one  had  done  her  any  good.  There  she 
was,  able  to  walk  out  a  little  way  in  the  street, 
but  still  hopelessly  sick.  And  that  day  as  she 
walked  she  heard  the  footsteps  and  voices  of 
a  crowd  coming  behind  her,  and  looking  about 


JAIRUS"   DAUGHTER 


THE  MINISTER'S   LITTLE   DAUGHTER    157 

she  saw  our  Lord  in  the  midst  of  them.  And 
immediately  she  said  to  herself,  "  If  I  may 
but  touch  his  garment,  I  shall  be  whole."  But 
she  was  very  timid.  She  did  not  dare  to  go  to 
him  before  all  those  people,  and  tell  him  how 
she  needed  his  blessing.  She  just  waited  till 
the  throng  overtook  her,  and  mingled  with 
the  others,  and  made  her  way,  nearer  and 
nearer  to  him,  and  at  last  got  where  she  could 
put  out  her  hand  and  touch  his  cloak.  And 
at  once  she  was  made  whole. 

But  the  King  stopped.  He  looked  about 
upon  the  crowd  and  said,  "  Who  touched  me  ? 
who  pulled  my  coat  ?  "  And  one  drew  back 
and  said,  "Not  I;"  and  another  said,  "Not 
I."  And  Peter  said,  "  Master,  the  multitude 
throng  thee,  and  press  thee,  and  sayest  thou 
'  Who  touched  me  ? ' ' '  But  our  Lord  repeated 
the  question.  "  Somebody,"  he  said,  "  hath 
touched  me,  for  I  perceive  that  strength  has 
gone  out  to  somebody  here  from  me."  Then 
when  the  woman  saw  that  she  could  not  be 
hid,  she  came  trembling,  and  fell  down  on  her 
knees  before  him  in  the  dusty  road,  and  told 


158  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

him  what  had  happened.  And  he  put  his 
hand  upon  her  head.  "Daughter,"  he  said, 
"  be  of  good  comfort :  thy  faith  hath  made 
thee  whole." 

Meanwhile,  the  minister  stood  by,  anxious 
and  impatient,  thinking  of  his  little  daughter. 
And  as  the  woman  went  away  and  our  Lord 
turned  to  go  with  him  to  his  house,  there 
came  a  messenger  with  great  sadness,  saying, 
"  It  is  all  over,  do  not  trouble  the  Master  fur- 
ther ;  the  little  daughter  is  dead."  But  when 
Jesus  heard  it,  he  said,  "  Fear  not ;  only  be- 
lieve, and  she  shall  be  made  whole."  So  they 
went  on  together.  And  as  they  came  near  the 
minister's  house,  they  heard  the  sound  of  cry- 
ing, and  saw  that  there  were  many  people  in  the 
street.  It  looked  as  if  the  whole  parish  had 
come  to  show  their  sympathy.  In  that  coun- 
try, when  people  cry,  they  cry  with  their  lips 
as  well  as  with  their  eyes,  and  when  anybody 
is  dead  they  hire  mourners  who  can  cry  very 
loud  indeed  to  come  and  help  them  make  their 
lamentation.  And  there  they  were,  weeping 
and  screaming,  making  a  dreadful  noise. 


THE  MINISTER'S   LITTLE   DAUGHTER    159 

The  first  thing  which  our  Lord  did  was  to 
turn  all  of  these  people  out  of  the  minister's 
house.  "  Give  place,"  he  said,  "  for  the  maid 
is  not  dead ;  she  is  asleep."  Then  he  went 
in,  taking  with  him  only  Peter  and  James  and 
John  and  the  father  and  mother  of  the  child. 
So  they  stood  at  last  in  the  silent  room,  where 
the  little  girl,  all  still  and  white,  lay  upon  the 
bed,  and  our  Lord  took  her  by  the  hand. 
"  Talitha  cumi,"  he  said,  for  that  was  the 
language  which  they  spoke  then ;  meaning, 
"  Get  up,  little  daughter."  And  the  child 
opened  her  eyes  and  rose  up.  And  our  Lord 
led  her  to  her  mother  saying,  "  She  is  hungry ; 
give  her  something  to  eat." 


IX 
THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT 

So  people  came  from  all  directions  to  see  the 
King  and  to  hear  his  words.  Some  came  be- 
cause they  hoped  that  he  would  do  a  work 
of  wonder;  and  these  were  moved  either  by 
curiosity,  that  they  might  stand  by  with  eyes 
wide  open  while  some  sick  person  was  made 
well,  or  by  their  own  distress,  being  themselves 
sick  or  in  trouble.  Some  came  because  they 
were  poor  and  hungry  or  disliked  by  their 
neighbors,  and  so  the  world  seemed  to  them 
a  bad  world,  and  they  wanted  to  know  what 
Jesus  would  do  to  make  it  better.  Very  few 
of  the  great  people  came,  the  rulers  or  the 
rich  ;  and  very  few  of  the  ministers.  The 
congregation  which  gathered  about  our  Lord 
looked  quite  unlike  the  congregation  which 
met  in  the  synagogue  on  the  sabbath  day. 
The  King  of  Glory  came  unto  his  own,  and 
his  own  received  him  not ;  that  is,  the  people 
who  read  their  Bibles,  and  said  their  prayers, 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT   161 

and  went  to  church,  and  were  thought  to  be 
very  good,  disliked  him  greatly.  Both  the 
priests  and  the  ministers  —  or,  as  we  would 
say  to-day,  both  the  Catholics  and  the  Pro- 
testants—  criticised  him,  and  objected  to  what 
he  said  and  did,  and  hated  him. 

He  did  not  often  preach  long  sermons ;  in- 
deed, for  the  most  part,  he  did  not  preach  at 
all,  but  just  talked  in  his  natural  voice.  He 
liked  best  to  speak  to  a  few  people,  in  a  quiet, 
friendly  way,  walking  in  the  country,  or  sitting 
under  a  tree  or  in  a  boat.  But  twice  he  spoke 
at  length  to  a  considerable  company,  so  that 
we  have  a  report  of  what  he  said.  Once  he 
was  on  a  mountain,  where  he  preached  the 
Sermon  of  the  Beatitudes.  The  other  time  he 
was  on  the  lake,  where  he  preached  the  Ser- 
mon of  the  Parables.  That  is,  in  the  first 
sermon  he  was  telling  people  how  to  be  happy, 
for  that  is  what "  beatitude  "  means  ;  and  in  the 
second  sermon  he  taught  the  people  by  means 
of  stories,  for  a  parable  is  a  story. 

Nobody  knows  where  our  Lord  preached 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  But  it  does  not 


162  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

greatly  matter,  for  all  the  hills  about  the  Lake 
of  Galilee  look  much  alike,  and  are  all  very 
different  from  Mt.  Sinai.  You  remember  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  which  Moses  preached : 
how  he  stood  on  Sinai,  a  great,  bleak,  rocky 
height,  in  the  midst  of  a  desert ;  and  how  he 
brought  down  the  Ten  Commandments,  cut 
on  slabs  of  stone ;  and  how  there  was  an 
awful  storm,  the  lightning  flashing  and  the 
thunder  booming.  But  the  Eight  Beatitudes 
were  spoken  on  a  gentle  hill,  green  to  the  top 
with  trees  and  shrubs  and  grass,  and  over- 
looking the  pleasant  lake.  We  may  safely 
guess  that  the  sun  was  bright,  and  that  birds 
were  singing  in  the  air  and  flowers  were  shining 
on  the  ground.  Indeed,  our  Lord  in  his  ser- 
mon spoke  of  the  birds  and  the  flowers,  how 
the  Father  in  heaven  cares  for  them  every  day. 
There  on  the  grass  sat  the  congregation  at 
our  Lord's  feet, —  the  poor,  the  sad,  the  sinful, 
and  the  outcast ;  and  he  spoke  sitting  at  the 
foot  of  a  green  tree. 

So  he  began  with  the  Eight  Beatitudes  :  the 
eight  ways  to  be  happy.  Blessed  are  the  poor 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT   163 

in  spirit:  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn :  for 
they  shall  be  comforted.  Blessed  are  the 
meek :  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  Blessed 
are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness  :for  they  shall  be  filled.  Blessed 
are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 
Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall 
see  God.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for 
they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God. 
Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for 
righteousness1  sake :  for  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  That  is,  the  true  source  of 
happiness  is  in  our  own  hearts :  not  in  the 
houses  in  which  we  live,  nor  in  the  clothes 
which  we  wear,  nor  in  the  money  which  we 
have,  but  in  ourselves.  If  we  try  always  to  do 
right,  so  that  God  shall  approve  of  us,  then 
we  shall  be  happy,  no  matter  what  things  hap- 
pen to  us.  There  may  be  a  great  difference 
between  happiness  and  wealth,  but  happiness 
and  goodness  always  dwell  together.  And  he 
showed  how  the  Ten  Commandments  are  to 
be  kept  with  our  hearts  as  well  as  with  our 


164  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

hands;  so  that  the  commandment  "Thou  shalfc 
do  no  murder,"  really  forhids  us  even  to  think 
hatefully  about  our  neighbor. 

Then  he  taught  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  which 
we  say  in  English  words  which  are  nearly  a 
hundred  years  older  than  the  English  Bibles 
which  we  commonly  read.  When  the  Bible 
was  translated  in  the  time  of  King  James, 
/everybody  knew  the  Lord's  Prayer  by  heart 
in  the  old  form,  and  most  people  kept  on 
saying  it  that  way.  Here  our  Lord  showed  us 
that  if  we  wish  to  do  the  things  that  are  right, 
and  thus  to  be  happy,  we  must  every  day  ask 
God  to  help  and  bless  us.  For  prayer  is  as 
necessary  to  the  life  of  the  soul  as  food  is  to 
the  life  of  the  body. 

Then  he  gave  the  Golden  Rule :  Whatsoever 
ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them.  Afterwards,  he  put  this  in  an- 
other and  still  stronger  way  in  the  New  Com- 
mandment. "  A  new  commandment  I  give 
unto  you,  That  ye  love  one  another  ;  as  I  have 
loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another."  And 
he  said  that  we  ought  even  to  love  those  who 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT       165 

hate  us,  trying  to  do  them  good  in  return  for 
the  evil  which  they  do  to  us.  "  Everybody," 
he  said,  "loves  his  friends ;  but  my  true  disciples 
will  love  their  enemies." 

At  the  end  of  the  sermon,  he  compared  the 
congregation  to  the  Two  Houses.  "  Once,"  he 
said,  "there  was  a  wise  man  who  built  his 
house  upon  a  rock.  Down  he  dug  into  the  earth 
until  he  found  the  solid  rock,  and  there  he 
set  the  corners  of  his  house.  And  then  a  storm 
came.  The  rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon 
a  rock."  That,  he  said,  was  like  the  people 
who  heard  his  teaching  and  listened  to  it  with 
attention  and  then  did  what  he  said.  "  And 
every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a 
foolish  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the 
sand :  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house ;  and  it  fell :  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it." 


X 

THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES 

THIS  sermon  was  preached,  not  on  a  mountain, 
but  on  the  lake,  where  our  Lord  sat  in  a  boat 
and  the  people  stood  on  the  bank.  The  sermon 
was  all  in  stories,  seven  of  them,  one  after  an- 
other ;  though  some  of  them  were  very  short. 
These  stories  are  called  parables,  which  means 
that  they  were  told,  not  for  the  sake  of  telling 
a  story,  but  in  order  to  teach  the  truth  :  for 
sometimes  there  is  more  valuable  truth  in  a 
story  than  there  is  in  a  long  chapter  full  of 
facts. 

All  these  stories  were  about  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  The  people  were  looking  and 
praying  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  they  were  thinking  more  about  the 
kingdom  than  they  were  about  heaven.  They 
were  expecting  a  king  with  a  crown  upon  his 
head,  and  a  sceptre  in  his  hand,  and  a  royal 
robe  over  his  shoulders,  sitting  on  a  throne. 
What  they  wanted  was  that  such  a  king  should 


THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES    167 

conquer  their  enemies,  and  make  them  again 
a  free  and  rich  nation.  They  wanted  wealth 
and  power.  So,  when  the  King  came  with  no 
palace  and  no  throne,  going  about  quietly  like 
other  men,  and  dressed  like  a  carpenter,  they 
did  not  know  him.  In  these  stories,  the  King 
tried  to  show  his  people  what  was  the  true 
idea  of  the  kingdom.  The  kingdom,  he  said, 
is  not  like  the  kingdoms  of  this  world ;  it  is 
not  on  the  map,  but  in  the  heart.  Its  power 
is  the  truth ;  and  they  belong  to  it  who  are 
trying  to  live  here  on  earth,  as  well  as  they 
can,  the  life  of  heaven,  —  the  life  of  good- 
ness and  usefulness,  and  love  of  man  and 
God. 

So  he  said  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
like  a  beautiful  pearl  for  the  sake  of  which 
a  man  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it ; 
that  is,  the  most  important  of  all  things  is  the 
life  which  is  lived  in  obedience  to  God.  And 
he  said  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like 
leaven,  —  or,  as  we  say,  yeast,  —  which  is  put 
into  dough  so  that  it  makes  bread ;  meaning 
that  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom  would  little 


168  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

by  little  change  the  world  in  which  they  live, 
and  make  it  as  different  from  the  present 
world  as  bread  is  different  from  dough.  And 
he  said  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  a  very  little  seed,  which 
grows  up  into  a  big  tree,  so  that  the  birds 
built  their  nests  in  it;  and  that  meant  that 
the  kingdom  was  indeed  beginning  very 
small,  only  a  little  company  of  disciples,  but 
it  should  grow  and  grow  and  grow  till  it 
should  include  the  whole  world.  These  were 
some  of  the  short  stories.  The  longest  of  all 
was  the  Story  of  the  Sower. 

Once  upon  a  time,  our  Lord  said,  a  man 
went  out  to  sow  his  field.  The  man  had  a 
large  bag  of  grain  by  his  side,  and  as  he 
walked  he  kept  putting  his  hand  into  the  bag, 
and  taking  out  the  grain  and  scattering  it 
over  the  ground.  In  the  middle  of  the  field 
there  was  a  path,  a  hard  path,  trodden  day 
after  day  by  the  feet  of  men  and  horses.  Some- 
body was  walking  over  it,  or  driving  over  it,  all 
the  time.  Some  of  the  seed  fell  on  this  beaten 
path.  There  was  a  place  on  one  side  where 


THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES     169 

the  field  lay  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  and  the 
hill  was  made  of  rock,  and  over  the  rock  the 
soil  was  very  thin  ;  only  a  few  inches  of  earth, 
and  then  the  rock  beneath.  In  a  corner  of 
the  field  there  had  been  a  great  many  briers 
and  thistles  the  year  before,  and  they  were 
just  getting  ready  to  start  up  again  and  make 
a  bramble  patch.  The  rest  of  the  field  was 
ploughed  land,  ready  for  seed. 

So  the  man  with  the  bag  went  back  and 
forth  across  the  field,  scattering  the  grain. 
And  some  fell  on  the  hard  path,  and  some  on 
the  thin  ground,  and  some  among  the  bram- 
bles, and  some  on  the  good  ploughed  land. 
And  pretty  soon  a  man  came  walking  along, 
wearing  heavy  boots,  and,  as  he  went  along  the 
path,  he  stepped  on  some  of  the  seeds  which 
lay  there  and  broke  them  into  little  pieces. 
So  they  never  grew.  And  by  and  by  a  bird 
came  along  that  way  and  caught  sight  of  the 
grain,  and  he  was  glad,  for  there  was  nothing 
that  he  liked  better  than  grain.  But,  as  he 
was  a  generous  little  bird,  he  took  only  a  nib- 
ble or  two  and  then  flew  away  to  tell  all  the 


170  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

other  little  birds  in  that  neighborhood  that 
there  was  a  fine  dinner  ready  for  them  on  the 
path,  and  would  n't  they  like  to  come  and  eat 
it  ?  So  a  whole  flock  o£  little  birds  came  flying 
as  fast  as  their  wings  could  carry  them,  and 
lighted  down  among  the  grains  of  wheat, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  nothing  was  left 
there  but  the  path.  And  so  nothing  ever  grew 
out  of  that  grain. 

But  the  seeds  in  the  shallow  soil  began  to 
grow  at  once.  When  the  sun  came  out,  there 
was  so  little  earth  that  it  was  warmed  through 
very  quickly :  and  as  there  is  nothing  which 
seeds  like  better  than  to  be  comfortably  warm, 
the  grain  grew  beautifully.  Little  leaves  poked 
up  their  little  green  heads  through  the  ground, 
and  there  they  breathed  the  air  and  drank  the 
rain,  and  every  morning  they  were  taller  than 
they  were  the  night  before.  But  while  seeds 
like  to  be  warm,  they  object  very  much  to 
being  scorched.  Unhappily,  after  these  seeds 
had  got  their  good  start,  and  the  stalks  of 
wheat  were  beginning  to  say  to  themselves  that 
they  were  much  taller  than  any  other  wheat  in 


THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES     171 

the  field,  —  for  the  other  wheat  did  not  grow 
nearly  so  fast,  —  there  came  a  very  hot  day. 
The  sun  blazed  and  blazed  until  the  tall  wheat 
felt  as  if  it  were  living  next  door  to  a  big 
bonfire.  The  little  roots  tried  to  get  away 
from  the  hot  sun,  down  in  the  cool  earth : 
but  there  was  the  hard  rock.  They  could 
not  find  a  cool  place  anywhere.  So  the  wheat 
began  to  wither.  It  began  to  feel  like  a  man 
who  has  a  sunstroke.  At  last  it  fell  down 
flat  upon  the  ground,  and  it  never  got  up 
again.  So  that  seed  did  not  amount  to  any- 
thing. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  bramble  patch  the  wheat 
was  growing,  but  the  thorns  and  thistles  were 
growing  also.  Now  all  seeds  need  to  have 
enough  to  eat,  but  thorns  and  thistles  are  like 
greedy  children  who  try  to  get  all  the  food 
there  is  upon  the  table.  The  corner  of  the 
field  was  the  table,  and  the  dirt  was  the  food, 
and  the  thistles  crowded  out  the  wheat;  and 
as  there  was  not  quite  enough  to  go  around, 
the  wheat  grew  more  and  more  hungry,  and 
thinner  and  thinner,  day  by  day,  till  it  was 


172  "  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

starved.  And  nobody  ever  got  any  grain  from 
that  seed. 

But  in  the  ploughed  land,  where  the  man 
came  with  a  sharp  hoe  and  cut  away  the 
weeds,  the  wheat  grew  and  became  taller  and 
taller,  until  at  last  it  was  above  the  heads  of  the 
farmer's  boys  and  girls,  and  the  ears  of  wheat 
appeared ;  and  finally,  when  the  man  who  had 
planted  the  seed  came  to  reap  the  harvest,  he 
found  that  these  seeds  had  grown  into  good 
wheat,  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  he  had  sown. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  story ;  but  after  the 
sermon  was  over  some  of  our  Lord's  disciples 
came  to  him  and  said,  "  What  did  you  mean 
by  the  Story  of  the  Sower  ?  "  For  they  knew 
that  he  did  not  tell  the  story  just  for  the 
pleasure  of  it.  And  so  he  told  them.  He  said 
that  the  seed  is  like  the  word  of  God ;  that  is, 
like  the  message  which  comes  to  us  from  God 
in  a  sermon,  or  in  a  book,  or  in  a  talk  with  a 
friend.  And  some  who  hear  have  hearts  like 
the  beaten  path.  Thoughts  about  other  things 
are  trampling  up  and  down  in  them,  like  the 
man  with  the  heavy  boots ;  or  such  thoughts 


THE  SERMON  OF  THE  SEVEN  STORIES     173 

are  flying  about  and  whispering  to  them,  like 
the  little  twittering  birds  ;  so  that  the  word  of 
God  does  not  make  any  impression  upon  them. 
They  do  not  pay  any  attention  to  God.  Others 
who  hear  are  like  the  shallow  places.  They 
are  at  first  greatly  interested,  full  of  joy  and 
enthusiasm,  and  determined  to  do  great  things. 
But  they  go  home,  and  the  little  daily  duties 
and  worries  come;  somebody  teases  them,  some- 
body tempts  them,  somebody  asks  them  to  do 
what  they  do  not  like  to  do,  and  all  the  good 
resolutions  wither  away,  like  the  grain  in  the 
hot  sun.  Others  who  hear  are  like  the  bramble 
patch.  They  begin  weh1,  and  hold  out  bravely 
for  a  time,  and  really  wish  to  mind  the  word 
of  God.  But  bad  things  that  used  to  grow 
in  their  hearts  commence  to  grow  again,  like 
thistles  in  the  field  :  briers  of  falsehood,  briers 
of  laziness,  brambles  of  selfishness.  And  the 
good  is  crowded  out.  The  easiest  garden  to 
take  care  of  is  a  weed  garden ;  it  needs  no 
care  at  all.  But  it  is  good  for  nothing.  Some 
people,  our  Lord  said,  have  weed  gardens  in 
their  hearts. 


174  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

But  the  true  citizens  of  the  kingdom  try 
every  day  to  do  the  King's  will,  to  keep  down 
all  that  is  wrong  in  them,  and  to  make  what  is 
right  grow  strong.  They  are  like  the  good 
ground.  In  them  God  is  well  pleased. 


XI 
THE  HERALD'S  HEAD 

WHILE  the  King  did  these  works  of  wonder 
and  spoke  these  words  of  wisdom,  the  King's 
herald  lay  in  prison.  You  remember  how  sternly 
John  the  Baptist  spoke  to  men  who  were  living 
in  sin,  and  how  it  made  no  difference  to  him 
whether  the  sinner  was  rich  or  poor.  To  the 
gentlemen  who  were  proud  of  their  good  birth, 
he  said  that  God,  if  he  chose,  could  change 
the  stones  of  the  river-bank  into  descendants  of 
Abraham,  and  that  by  their  actions  one  would 
guess  that  their  real  father  was  that  old  ser- 
pent, the  devil.  Now  Herod  the  Great,  when 
he  came  to  die,  had  divided  his  kingdom  among 
his  sons,  and  one  of  them,  named  Herod 
Antipas,  thus  became  ruler  in  Galilee  and  be- 
yond the  Jordan.  Of  course,  the  Romans 
were  the  real  rulers,  but  they  appointed  him  as 
one  of  their  governors.  Herod  Antipas  was 
married  to  the  princess  of  a  little  kingdom  in 
Arabia,  but  about  this  time  he  went  on  a  visit 


176  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

to  Rome  to  see  his  half-brother,  Herod  Philip ; 
and  while  he  was  there  he  fell  in  love  with 
Herod  Philip's  wife,  whose  name  was  Herodias. 
Then  Herodias  left  her  husband  for  Antipas, 
and  Antipas's  wife  fled  home  in  great  distress 
and  anger  to  her  father.  All  the  country  knew 
about  these  scandalous  and  wicked  doings. 
But  Herodias  and  her  daughter  Salome  came 
and  lived  in  Herod  Antipas's  splendid  palace 
at  Tiberias  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  nobody 
said  anything,  except  in  whispers,  for  it  is  not 
easy  to  reprove  kings  and  queens. 

But  John  the  Baptist  did  not  speak  in  a 
whisper.  He  spoke  up  in  a  great  loud  voice, 
and  said  in  his  sermons  to  the  people,  and  at  last 
to  the  king  himself,  that  it  was  all  terribly  bad  ; 
and  that  it  was  against  all  laws  of  man  and  of 

O 

God,  that  he  should  have  his  brother's  wife. 
And  that  is  how  he  went  to  prison.  Herod 
had  a  great,  black  stone  fortress  beyond  the 
Jordan,  the  fortress  of  Machaerus,  and  there 
he  put  John  into  a  dungeon.  Herodias  would 
have  put  him  to  death,  but  she  was  afraid  of 
the  people,  for  the  people  reverenced  John. 


THE   HERALD'S   HEAD  177 

Even  Herod  respected  the  brave  man  who  was 
not  afraid  to  speak  the  truth  to  the  king's  face. 
So  John  lay  in  prison,  though  his  disciples 
were  allowed  to  come  and  visit  him.  It  seemed 
very  hard  to  the  Baptist,  after  all  his  free  life 
in  the  wilderness,  to  be  shut  up  behind  stone 
walls.  He  had  not  had  even  a  roof  over  his 
head  since  he  was  a  child.  And  one  day,  strong 
man  as  he  was,  he  became  very  discouraged,  and 
sent  some  of  his  disciples  to  Jesus,  and  said, 
"  Are  you  truly  the  King  ?  Are  you  he  that 
should  come,  or  must  we  look  for  another?  " 
For  John  the  Baptist,  like  the  other  people, 
was  expecting  a  king  like  Herod  —  a  better 
and  mightier  Herod.  And  when  Jesus  kept 
on  living  so  quietly,  and  going  about  with  a 
group  of  fishermen,  and  saying  that  his  king- 
dom was  not  of  this  world,  John  knew  not 
what  to  think.  So  John's  disciples  came  with 
their  master's  question.  And  our  Lord  said, 
"  Stay  with  me  this  day."  So  they  stayed  with 
him  that  day,  and  he  did  just  what  he  was  al- 
ways doing  :  the  blind  received  their  sight,  and 
the  lame  walked,  the  lepers  were  cleansed,  and 


178  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

the  deaf  heard,  the  dead  were  raised  up, 
and  the  poor  had  the  gospel  preached  to  them. 
"  Now,"  he  said,  "  go  back  to  John  and  show 
him  what  you  have  heard  and  seen."  So  they 
went  back,  but  what  John  said  we  do  not 
know. 

Then  Herod  had  a  birthday,  and  he  made  a 
supper  to  his  lords,  high  captains,  and  the  chief 
people  of  Galilee.  The  tables  were  spread  in 
a  splendid  room,  with  walls  made  beautiful 
with  pictures,  with  dishes  of  silver  and  gold, 
music  playing  while  the  feast  went  on,  and  many 
servants  bringing  all  sorts  of  pleasant  things 
to  eat.  At  last,  when  they  had  all  had  a  great 
deal  more  to  drink  than  was  good  for  them, 
the  king  sent  for  Salome,  the  young  daughter 
of  Herodias,  and  she  came  in  and  danced,  so 
that  the  king  was  delighted.  And  Herod, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  was  saying,  spoke  up 
before  all  his  nobles  and  said  to  the  little 
daughter,  "  Ask  of  me  whatsoever  you  will, 
and  I  will  give  it  to  you."  And  as  she  stopped 
to  think,  and  all  the  guests  were  looking  at  him 
and  at  her,  "  Yes,"  he  cried,  "  whatsoever 


THE   HERALD'S  HEAD  179 

thou  slialt  ask  of  me,  I  will  give  it  to  thee,  unto 
the  half  of  my  kingdom." 

There  was  the  promise,  then,  and  the  child 
could  have  her  wish.  What  should  it  be? 
Among  all  the  beautiful  things  in  the  world, 
what  shall  the  princess  choose?  One  day, 
King  Solomon  had  a  chance  to  ask  for  what 
he  wanted  most,  and  he  asked  for  wisdom. 
But  the  king  cannot  give  wisdom ;  indeed,  this 
king  had  no  wisdom  to  spare.  Well,  lovely 
gowns,  then,  or  jewels,  or  gardens,  or  money 
to  buy  them  all.  It  was  a  hard  matter  to  de- 
cide, and  the  girl  went  to  ask  her  mother  ;  a 
very  good  thing  to  do,  if  she  had  had  a  good 
mother. 

But  now  Herodias  saw  her  opportunity. 
All  this  time  she  had  been  longing  to  have 
her  revenge  for  what  John  the  Baptist  had 
said  about  her.  They  were  hard  words,  and 
the  worst  of  it  was,  she  had  deserved  them 
all :  but  so  much  the  more  she  hated  him. 
Already,  as  we  have  seen,  she  had  tried  to 
have  him  killed.  Now  was  the  time.  So  Sa- 
lome went  out  and  said  to  her  mother,  "What 


180  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

shall  I  ask  ?  "  And  Herodias  said,  "  The  head 
of  John  the  Baptist."  And  Salome  came  run- 
ning back  in  great  haste  into  the  dining-room, 
and  cried  out  in  a  high  voice,  so  that  every- 
body heard  what  she  said,  "  I  will  that  thou 
give  me  by  and  by  in  a  charger  [that  is,  on 
a  great  platter]  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist." 
Then  what  did  the  king  do  ?  If  he  had 
been  a  good  king,  he  would  have  told  his 
daughter  what  a  wicked  thing  that  was  to  ask. 
But  he  did  not  do  that.  He  was  exceedingly 
sorry.  But  he  had  promised  to  give  her  any- 
thing she  wished,  and  she  had  wished  for  John 
the  Baptist's  head,  and  he  did  not  consider 
that  we  ought  never  to  keep  bad  promises. 
The  only  thing  to  do  if  we  make  a  wicked 
promise,  is  to  break  it.  He  was  afraid  that  his 
nobles  would  laugh  at  him  if  he  did  not  do 
what  lie  said  he  would.  For  their  sakes  which 
sat  with  him,  he  would  not  reject  her.  So  he 
sent  an  executioner,  and  commanded  his  head 
to  be  brought ;  and  the  executioner  went  and 
beheaded  the  herald  of  the  King  of  Glory  in 
the  prison.  So  he  died,  whose  birth  the  angel 


THE  HERALD'S  HEAD  181 

had  promised  at  the  altar,  whose  name  had 
been  given  him  amidst  the  rejoicings  of  his 
father  and  mother  and  their  friends,  who  had 
lived  for  years  in  the  wild  woods,  and  then 
had  come  forth  to  welcome  the  King  of  kings. 
And  his  head  was  brought  in  by  the  execu- 
tioner, on  a  great  silver  platter,  and  the  exe- 
cutioner gave  it  to  the  girl,  and  the  girl  gave 
it  to  her  mother. 


XII 
TWELVE  BASKETS    OF  PIECES 

AT  the  time  of  the  beheading  of  John  the 
Baptist,  the  apostles  were  on  a  journey  about 
the  country,  two  by  two.  Our  Lord  had  sent 
them  to  teach  as  they  had  heard  him  teach, 
and  to  cast  out  devils  and  heal  the  sick.  So 
they  had  been  walking  pleasantly  between  the 
green  fields,  two  by  this  road  and  two  by  that, 
each  man  with  a  staff  in  his  hand,  speaking  in 
the  market-places,  going  home  to  dinner  and 
to  spend  the  night,  if  any  good  citizen  in- 
vited them,  or,  if  there  were  no  such  invita- 
tion, sleeping  on  the  hay  in  the  meadow  and 
quenching  their  thirst  in  the  cool  streams. 

Now  they  came  home  to  tell  our  Lord  how 
God  had  blessed  them  beyond  all  their  expec- 
tations, but  they  brought  the  bad  news  with 
them  of  the  death  of  the  herald.  Our  Lord 
saw,  too,  that  they  were  very  tired,  for  there 
had  been  so  many  people  coming  and  going 
about  them  that  they  had  no  leisure  so  much 


TWELVE  BASKETS   OF  PIECES       183 

as  to  eat.  So  he  said,  "  Come  now  apart  into 
a  desert  place  and  rest  a  while."  For  he  knew 
that  tired  people  cannot  be  of  much  use  to 
their  neighbors.  They  got  into  a  boat,  there- 
fore, and  rowed  out  into  the  lake.  They  were 
both  tired  and  sad.  In  the  death  of  the  Bap- 
tist they  saw  not  only  the  loss  of  a  friend,  but 
the  murder  of  a  prophet.  John  had  met  the 
fate  of  many  prophets.  Would  it  be  their  own 
fate  also  ? 

So  they  rowed  in  silence  across  the  narrow 
lake  and  landed  where  there  were  no  houses. 
There  was  much  grass  in  the  place,  and  back 
from  the  water  were  low  wooded  hills.  There 
they  sat  down  to  rest.  But  the  people  had 
seen  them  departing,  and  they  said  one  to 
another,  "  There  is  the  Prophet.  He  is  going 
with  his  disciples  across  the  lake.  Let  us  go 
too."  And  they  made  haste  on  foot,  running 
along  the  road  about  the  head  of  the  lake ; 
and  as  they  went  the  crowd  increased,  for 
when  they  hurried  through  the  street  of  any 
village  everybody  came  to  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, crying,  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  What 


184  WHEN  THE  KING   CAME 

is  the  matter  ? "  And  they  said,  "  We  are 
going  to  find  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth." 
And  the  men  and  women  and  even  the  chil- 
dren cried,  "  We  will  go  with  you !  "  So  there 
was  a  great  multitude.  There  were  even  sick 
persons  among  them.  As  the  crowd  ran  by 
the  house,  father  Josiah  would  say  to  mother 
Miriam,  "  The  Prophet  is  yonder  in  the  fields. 
Shall  we  not  carry  our  little  Deborah,  and  ask 
him  to  make  her  well?"  And  away  they 
would  go,  carrying  Deborah  on  a  blanket  be- 
tween them. 

By  and  by,  therefore,  a  distant  sound  was 
heard  in  the  beautiful  stillness  where  the 
Master  and  the  apostles  rested  in  their  weari- 
ness and  sadness.  And  one  said,  "  It  is  like 
the  sound  of  many  voices."  Another  said, 
"I  hear  the  tramping  of  many  feet."  And 
a  third  stood  up  to  look,  and  said,  "  A  great, 
great  crowd  is  coming."  Did  our  Lord  say, 
"  But  we  are  tired  and  sad ;  let  us  go  back 
upon  the  hills,  and  hide  us  from  their  sight 
among  the  trees  ?  "  No  ;  the  moment  he  saw 
the  people  his  heart  was  filled  with  compassion 


TWELVE  BASKETS  OF  PIECES        185 

toward  them,  because  they  were  as  sheep  not 
having  a  shepherd ;  and  he  began  to  teach 
them  many  things,  and  to  heal  those  who  were 
sick  among  them. 

But  when  the  evening  came  his  disciples 
came  to  him  and  said,  "  This  is  a  desert  place, 
and  now  the  time  is  far  passed.  Send  them 
away,  that  they  may  go  into  the  country  round 
about,  and  into  the  villages,  and  buy  them- 
selves food ;  for  they  have  nothing  to  eat." 
They  had  come  out  in  such  great  haste  and 
eagerness  that  they  had  brought  nothing  with 
them.  Our  Lord  said  to  Philip,  "  Whence  shall 
we  buy  bread,  that  these  may  eat?"  Philip 
answered,  "  It  would  take  two  hundred  dollars 
to  buy  enough  to  give  each  one  even  a  single 
piece  of  bread."  Our  Lord  said,  "How  much 
have  we  ?  Go  and  see."  And  Andrew  came 
back  and  said,  "  There  is  a  lad  here  with  five 
barley  loaves  and  two  small  fishes.  But  what 
are  they  among  so  many  ?  "  Even  now,  when 
there  is  a  great  work  to  be  done  for  man  and 
God,  one  disciple  says,  "  It  is  impossible," 
while  another  says,  "  Here  is  something  to 


186  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

begin  with."  And  our  Lord  still  does  as  he 
did  then ;  he  takes  the  small  beginning  and 
makes  it  great. 

And  Jesus  said,  "  Make  the  men  sit  down." 
So  the  men  sat  down,  by  companies  of  hun- 
dreds and  fifties,  on  the  green  grass,  in  number 
about  five  thousand.  And  he  took  the  five 
loaves  and  the  two  fishes  and  looked  up  to 
heaven,  and  blessed  and  brake  the  loaves,  and 
gave  them  to  his  disciples  to  set  before  them ; 
and  the  two  fishes  divided  he  among  them  all. 
So  they  went  forth,  —  the  twelve  apostles,  — 
each  with  a  fragment  of  bread  and  a  bit  of 
fish  which  our  Lord  had  blessed,  arid  each 
gave  to  one  man,  and  then  to  another  man, 
and  then  to  still  another,  and  behold,  there  was 
still  enough  to  give,  and  so  it  went  till  they 
had  all  eaten,  all  the  five  thousand,  and  wo- 
men and  children  beside.  And  after  they 
were  satisfied,  he  told  the  apostles  to  gather 
up  the  fragments  that  remained,  that  nothing 
should  be  lost.  Therefore  they  gathered  them 
together,  and  filled  twelve  baskets  with  the 
fragments  of  the  five  barley  loaves,  which 


TWELVE   BASKETS  OF  PIECES        187 

remained  over  and  above  unto  them  that  had 
eaten.  Every  apostle  filled  his  lunch  basket 
full. 

Then  these  men,  when  they  had  seen  the 
miracle  which  Jesus  did,  said,  "  This  is  of  a 
truth  that  Prophet  which  should  come  into 
the  world ;  "  meaning  the  Messiah.  And  some 
said,  "  Come,  he  is  the  Messiah ;  let  us  make 
him  our  King."  And  all  rose  up,  all  the  five 
thousand,  with  great  shouts,  waving  their  arms, 
calling  him  their  King.  And  when  he  started 
to  go  away  and  to  escape  them,  telling  them 
that  he  could  never  be  the  kind  of  king  they 
meant,  they  tried  to  compel  him,  even  by 
force.  And  still  he  refused  and  resisted,  free- 
ing himself  from  their  hands,  sending  his  dis- 
ciples away  to  their  boats,  and  himself  going 
in  the  gathering  dusk  into  a  mountain  alone. 

That  was  the  turning-point  of  our  Lord's 
ministry.  Up  to  that  time,  his  disciples  had 
been  many,  crowds  greeted  him  and  followed 
him  wherever  he  went.  There  were  those,  in* 
deed,  who  greatly  disliked  him,  and  sometimes 
already  they  had  even  threatened  that  they 


:   ; 


188  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

would  kill  him.  But  the  common  people  heard 
him  gladly.  Now,  however,  there  was  a  re- 
action. He  had  told  them  plainly  that  he 
would  never  be  a  king  such  as  they  wished ; 
and  they  would  not  have  him  as  the  King  of 
truth.  The  next  day  he  spoke  in  the  syna- 
gogue in  Capernaum,  and  said  things  which 
were  so  hard  to  understand  that  from  that 
time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back  and 
walked  no  more  with  him.  He  was  not  quite 
sure  even  of  the  twelve,  and  said,  "  Will  ye 
also  go  away  ?  "  But  Peter  answered  for  them 
all,  saying,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ? 
Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 

Then  the  next  day  came  scribes  from  Jeru- 
salem, and  met  our  Lord  as  he  walked  in  the 
street,  and  reproved  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  people,  saying  that  he  dishonored  God  be- 
cause he  did  not  keep  the  customs.  They  said 
that  all  men  who  became  our  Lord's  disciples 
ceased  to  be  good  churchmen.  But  our  Lord 
reproved  them,  saying  that  God  was  dis- 
honored by  their  customs.  He  said  that  their 
religion  was  in  their  lips  and  not  in  their 


TWELVE  BASKETS   OF  PIECES        189 

hearts.  God,  he  said,  did  not  care  for  their 
petty  rules :  he  is  to  be  served  by  honesty, 
and  mercy,  and  truth,  and  a  good  life.  And 
he  called  them  blind  leaders  of  the  blind. 

After  that,  in  Galilee  as  well  as  in  Judea, 
our  Lord  was  hated  by  more  and  more  people, 
some  of  whom  sought  his  life.  He  had  to  go 
away,  out  of  his  own  land,  into  the  heathen 
countries  round  about. 


IV 


How  THE  KING  WAS  HATED  MORE  AND 
MORE  AND  COULD  NOT  STAY  EVEN  IN  GALILEE  ; 
HOW  HE  WENT  AMONG  THE  HEATHEN,  AND 
THEN  INTO  THE  LAND  ACROSS  THE  JORDAN  ; 
AND  HOW  AT  LAST  HE  SET  HIS  FACE  TOWARDS 
JERUSALEM. 


I 

WHY  THE  KING  WAS  HATED 

IT  seems  to  us  very  strange  and  sad  that 
the  King  was  rejected  by  the  citizens  of  his 
own  kingdom.  But  so  it  was.  Among  the 
enemies  of  our  Lord  there  was  not  one  who 
had  ever  been  in  jail.  On  the  contrary,  those 
who  were  the  most  bitter  against  him  were 
generally  thought  to  be  uncommonly  good 
people.  Twice  every  week  they  fasted.  Out 
of  every  hundred  dollars  which  they  earned, 
they  gave  ten  to  the  church.  Some  of  them 
were  ministers :  some  —  as  we  would  say 
—  were  wardens  and  vestrymen.  They  were 
all  church-members.  It  is  true  that  our 
Lord  said  that  they  were  hypocrites;  which 
means  that  they  were  not  so  good  as  they 
seemed  to  be,  and  that  their  religion  was  in 
their  lips  rather  than  in  their  hearts.  But 
even  their  badness  was  the  badness  of  good 
people. 

One  reason  why  they  hated  our  Lord  was 


194  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

that  they  were  very  formal  and  precise  per- 
sons, while  he  was  always  perfectly  natural, 
direct,  and  simple.  Many  of  the  things  which 
he  said  and  did  shocked  them  greatly.  For 
example,  the  name  by  which  they  thought 
of  God  was  Jehovah,  but  they  felt  that  that 
name  was  so  sacred  that  they  ought  never  to 
speak  it  nor  write  it.  On  the  other  hand,  our 
Lord,  who  was  in  God  and  God  in  him,  and 
to  whom  praying  was  as  natural  as  breath- 
ing, spoke  of  God  as  one  whom  he  knew  very 
well,  calling  him  Father,  even  using  the  name 
Abba  by  which  the  little  Hebrew  boys  and 
girls  addressed  their  fathers.  So  they  said  that 
our  Lord  was  a  blasphemer :  that  is,  one  who 
speaks  disrespectfully  of  God. 

Another  reason  why  they  hated  our  Lord 
was  that  he  paid  so  little  attention  to  some  of 
their  customs.  They  had  a  great  many  ways  of 
doing  things,  which  to  us  seem  strange  and 
even  foolish,  but  which  they  considered  so  im- 
portant that  they  felt  that  anybody  who  did 
differently  was  bad.  Some  of  these  customs 
were  connected  with  the  keeping  of  the  sab- 


WHY  THE  KING  WAS   HATED        195 

bath,  some  with  the  washing  of  hands,  some 
with  the  treatment  of  outsiders. 

Thus,  they  had  a  good  law  that  men  should 
not  work  in  the  fields  on  the  sabbath  :  nobody 
should  cut  grain  or  thresh  it.  The  purpose  was 
to  give  all  laboring  folk  a  day  off  every  week 
for  rest.  But  they  were  so  afraid  that  the  law 
might  be  broken,  that  they  said  that  if  any 
one  even  picked  a  single  head  of  wheat  and 
rubbed  it  in  his  hands  to  get  a  kernel  from 
the  husk,  he  was  cutting  grain  and  threshing 
it.  One  day,  our  Lord  and  his  disciples  went 
across  a  field  of  wheat,  and  the  disciples  began, 
as  they  went,  to  pluck  the  spears  of  grain. 
And  the  scribes  said,  "  Behold,  thy  disciples 
do  that  which  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the 
sabbath  day."  But  our  Lord  paid  no  heed  to 
their  complaint. 

They  had  another  law  that  all  persons 
should  wash  their  hands  before  they  sat  down 
to  dinner :  an  excellent  habit,  if  one's  hands 
need  washing.  But  their  idea  was  that  a  great 
many  things  in  the  world  are  unclean,  or,  as 
we  might  say,  unlucky.  If  anybody  touched 


196  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

these  things,  God  did  not  like  him  till  he  had 
washed  off  the  unlucky  touch.  But  our  Lord 
knew  better.  The  things,  he  said,  which  God 
does  not  like  are  bad  works  and  bad  actions. 
And  he  told  his  disciples  that  they  did  not 
need  to  wash  their  hands  in  order  to  keep  the 
favor  of  God. 

They  were  also  very  careful  about  associat- 
ing with  outsiders,  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
church.  Some  of  these  were  Gentiles,  that  is, 
heathen  people ;  some  were  Samaritans,  who 
were  part  Jews  and  part  heathen  ;  some  were 
publicans,  who  were  in  the  employ  of  the  hea- 
then ;  some  were  plain  sinners.  The  Jews 
would  not  eat  with  such  persons,  nor  would 
they  willingly  have  any  dealings  with  them. 
They  despised  and  hated  them.  But  our  Lord 
felt  that  people  who  were  living  in  ignorance 
and  sin  should  be  helped  to  be  better,  and  he 
knew  that  in  order  to  help  anybody  one  must 
first  make  friends  with  him.  Sometimes  he 
said  that  he  was  like  a  shepherd  who  goes  in 
search  of  a  sheep  which  is  lost.  Sometimes  he 
said  that  he  was  like  a  physician  whose  busi- 


JESUS   AND  THE   WOMAN    OF    SAMARIA 


WHY  THE   KING  WAS   HATED        197 

ness  is  to  care  for  those  who  are  sick.  He  was 
going  through  Samaria,  one  time,  and  being 
thirsty  and  tired  he  sat  down  on  a  stone  by  a 
well,  and  a  Samaritan  woman  came  to  draw 
water.  She  was  a  Samaritan,  and,  besides  that, 
a  person  of  bad  character ;  but  our  Lord  spoke 
to  her  kindly.  Sometimes,  when  the  scribes 
wished  to  call  him  by  a  bad  name,  they  said 
that  he  was  a  Samaritan  himself,  and  that  he 
was  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  They 
felt  towards  publicans  and  Samaritans  as  peo- 
ple in  some  southern  towns  feel  towards  ne- 
groes. 

It  was  for  these  reasons  that  when  the  King 
came  unto  his  own,  his  own  received  him  not. 
They  were  interested  in  little  things  :  he  was 
interested  in  great  things.  They  were  busy 
with  seeds  and  herbs,  —  mint,  anise,  and  cum- 
min, —  tying  them  up  in  ten  bundles,  to  give 
one  bundle  to  the  church.  He  was  intent  on 
justice,  mercy,  and  truth.  They  were  thinking 
about  their  customs  ;  he  was  thinking  about 
God  and  man.  And  they  hated  him.  They 
saw  that  he  was  a  prophet,  and  that  the  people 


198  WHEN   THE   KING  CAME 

crowded  about  him :  they  could  not  help  see* 
ing  that  he  was  preaching  truth  and  goodness; 
but  he  was  unlike  them,  and  they  hated  him. 
It  has  happened  many  times  since  then.  That 
was  all  that  they  had  against  him :  that  his 
custom  of  keeping  the  sabbath,  and  of  washing 
his  hands,  and  of  dealing  with  outsiders  was 
different  from  theirs.  But  that  was  enough. 
They  went  to  church,  and  said  their  prayers, 
and  read  their  Bibles,  and  fasted  twice  in  the 
week,  —  and  hated  the  King  of  Glory. 

The  result  was  that  it  was  no  longer  safe 
for  him  to  live  in  his  own  country.  He  had 
never  spent  much  time  in  Judea,  except  to  go 
to  Jerusalem  for  the  great  church  festivals. 
Galilee  had  been  the  place  of  his  ministry, 
and  especially  that  portion  of  it  which  lies 
about  the  northern  part  of  the  lake.  But  after 
the  scribes  came  up  from  Jerusalem  and  at- 
tacked him  in  Capernaum,  he  could  not  stay  in. 
Galilee.  The  great  people  turned  against  him, 
and  the  common  people  —  disappointed  because 
he  would  not  be  their  king  —  followed  their 
example.  He  was  no  longer  surrounded  by 


WHY  THE  KING  WAS  HATED        199 

enthusiastic  crowds.  Men  and  women  looked  at 
him  with  eyes  of  suspicion  and  dislike.  They 
spoke  one  to  another  as  he  passed  by,  saying, 
"  There  goes  the  prophet  of  Nazareth.  Have 
you  heard  how  the  scribes  from  Jerusalem 
reproved  him  and  disowned  him  ?  He  is  a 
sabbath  breaker,  and  a  despiser  of  our  holy 
customs,  and  associates  with  low  people.  There 
is  Matthew,  the  publican,  speaking  to  him  this 
moment."  And  there  were  threats  against  his 
life. 

So  he  took  his  twelve  friends,  and  they  went 
away  together.  He  never  stood  again  on  the 
hills  of  Nazareth.  He  never  spoke  again  to  the 
people  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  nor  sat  in  a 
fisherman's  boat.  He  walked  no  more  between 
the  pleasant  fields.  As  they  went  they  looked 
back  for  a  last  sight  of  the  place  where  they  had 
lived.  They  saw  the  white  houses  of  Chorazin 
and  Bethsaida  and  Capernaum  shining  against 
the  blue  line  of  the  water.  And  our  Lord  took 
his  leave,  with  great  grief.  "  Woe  unto  thee, 
Chorazin  !  woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida  !  for  if 
the  mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and 


200  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

Sidon  which  have  been  done  in  you,  they  had 
a  great  while  ago  repented,  sitting  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes.  And  thou,  Capernaum !  high  and 
lifted  up,  thou  shalt  be  brought  low."  Then 
he  turned  about  and  set  his  face  towards  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  cities  of  the  heathen. 


II 

IN  THE  LAND  OF  TYRE  AND  SIDON 

So  our  Lord  and  his  twelve  friends  went  away, 
leaving  the  Lake  of  Galilee  and  the  fishing-nets 
behind  them :  and  by  and  by,  when  the  road 
climbed  the  high  hills,  there  was  a  silver  line 
along  the  far  horizon  which  meant  the  salt 
sea,  the  Mediterranean.  Beyond  lay  Greece, 
and  then  Italy,  and  then  Spain  ;  and  north  of 
Spain,  France  and  England ;  and  west,  across 
the  unknown  ocean,  America.  He  looked  out 
into  the  wide  world.  He  was  a  fugitive,  driven 
from  his  native  land ;  but  heaven  was  his  true 
native  land,  and  he  was  Lord  of  Life.  There 
were  great  thoughts  in  his  heart,  of  which  the 
twelve  friends  knew  nothing.  He  had  now 
ended  that  part  of  his  ministry  in  which  he 
had  gone  about  among  his  own  people,  speak- 
ing words  of  wisdom  and  doing  works  of  won- 
der. He  was  still  to  teach  and  still  to  bless, 
but  the  greater  part  of  his  time  was  to  be  given 
to  the  Twelve.  One  purpose  of  this  journey 


202  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

into  a  foreign  country  was  that  he  might  be 
with  them  more  intimately.  He  was  to  prepare 
them  to  carry  on  his  work  after  his  death. 
For  he  saw  now  that  he  must  expect  death. 

Presently,  they  came  to  a  little  town  near 
the  great  seaport  of  Tyre,  where  the  signs  over 
the  shop  doors  were  in  Greek,  and  the  people 
said  "Good-morning"  in  Greek  when  they 
met  in  the  street.  There  he  found  a  lodging, 
and  went  in  and  shut  the  door.  He  felt  that 
he  was  in  a  place  where  nobody  knew  him,  and 
was  glad.  After  what  had  happened,  he  wished 
to  be  alone.  But  he  could  not  be  hid.  It  may 
be  that  some  dim  rumor  of  him  had  traveled 
even  over  those  long  roads.  For  there  were 
people  coming  and  going.  As  long  ago  as 
King  Solomon's  time  men  had  gone  from  Tyre 
to  Jerusalem  on  business,  as  brass-workers  and 
wood-carvers,  as  artists  and  architects.  Some 
such  person,  working  in  the  temple  or  in 
Herod's  palace  at  Tiberias  may  have  brought 
the  word.  Somebody  mav  have  seen  him  in 
Judea  or  in  Galilee,  and  now,  seeing  him 
again,  recognized  him. 


IN  THE  LAND   OF  TYRE  AND  SIDON    203 

Or,  perhaps,  they  knew  him  without  having 
seen  him.  As  he  passed  b°y,  they  observed  him. 
They  did  not  need  to  be  very  keen  of  sight  to 
perceive  that  he  was  different  from  other  men. 
One  day,  Paul  and  Barnabas,  journeying 
through  Asia  Minor,  came  into  a  place,  and 
the  people  running  together  cried,  "  The  gods 
are  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men  !  " 
They  guessed  that  by  the  way  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas looked.  They  said  at  once  that  Barnabas, 
who  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  must  be  Ju- 
piter, and  that  Paul,  who  talked  a  great  deal, 
must  be  Mercury.  And  here,  in  the  land  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  was  God  indeed,  the  almighty 
and  eternal  God,  come  down  in  the  likeness  of 
a  man.  He  could  not  be  hid.  Men  pointed 
after  him  as  he  walked  along  the  street,  and 
women  looked  out  at  him  from  the  windows  of 
the  houses,  saying,  "  Who  is  this  ?  " 

Thus  it  was  that  news  of  his  arrival  reached 
a  woman  who  was  sitting  by  the  bedside  of 
her  sick  daughter.  She  was  a  heathen  woman  : 
they  were  all  heathen  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon.  She  was  one  of  those  out- 


204  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

siders  whom  the  scribes  so  much  disliked. 
Her  little  girl  had  been  brought  up  a  heathen. 
She  had  never  heard  of  the  wanderings  of 
Abraham,  but  she  knew  all  about  the  wander- 
ings of  Ulysses.  She  had  never  been  told  of 
the  adventures  of  Samson,  but  her  mother  had 
told  her  many,  many  times  the  brave  stories  of 
the  adventures  of  Hercules.  She  was  quite  ig- 
norant of  Aaron  and  the  Golden  Calf,  but  she 
could  have  told  you  of  Jason  and  the  Golden 
Fleece.  She  was  a  little  heathen  maiden,  and 
said  her  prayers  to  the  little  statue  of  a  Greek 
god,  for  that  was  the  best  she  knew.  And 
now  she  was  very  sick,  and  had  been  in  that 
sad  state  a  long  time.  Something  was  the 
matter  with  her  head,  so  that  she  said  discon- 
nected, foolish  things  when  she  talked.  As 
her  mother  said,  she  was  grievously  vexed  with 
a  devil.  That  is  all  that  her  mother  knew  about 
it,  and  we  ourselves,  as  I  have  said  before, 
know  little  more. 

The  news  came,  then,  that  some  great  one 
was  come  to  town ;  out  of  the  land  of  Israel, 
some  said  ;  and  others  added  —  either  guess- 


IN  THE   LAND  OF   TYRE  AND  SIDON    205 

ing  or  having  questioned  the  apostles  —  that 
he  was  a  son  of  David,  a  king  and  priest  in 
one,  like  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East ;  a  god  in 
the  likeness  of  a  man.  Nobody  quite  knew  who 
he  was,  but  he  was  good  and  great ;  anybody 
could  see  that.  So  the  next  neighbor  on  one 
side  came  in  and  said,  "  Why  don't  you  go  to 
the  Son  of  David  and  tell  him  of  the  sickness 
of  your  daughter  ?  Why  don't  you  get  him  to 
lay  his  hand  on  her  and  make  her  well  ?  "  And 
the  next  neighbor  on  the  other  side  said, 
"  You  go  and  speak  to  him,  and  I  will  stay  with 
the  little  girl  while  you  are  gone." 

So  the  mother  went.  She  met  our  Lord  and 
the  Twelve  walking  in  the  street,  and  imme- 
diately she  cried  to  him,  "  Have  mercy  on  me, 
0  Lord,  thou  Son  of  David :  my  daughter  is 
grievously  vexed  with  a  devil."  For  that  is  how 
mothers  feel  about  their  children.  "  Have 
mercy  on  me,"  she  said:  not,  "Have  mercy 
on  my  daughter."  The  daughter's  pain  was 
the  mother's  pain.  "  0  Lord,  thou  Son  of 
David,  hear  me  and  help  me !  "  But  our  Lord 
said  not  a  word. 


206  WHEN  THE  KING   CAME 

Here  was  a  marvelous  thing.  He  who  had 
never  before  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  any  call  of 
distress  said  not  a  word.  On  he  went  in  silence, 
the  Twelve  about  him,  and  the  mother  follow- 
ing. I  told  you  that  when  people  cry  in  the 
East,  they  cry  with  their  lips  as  well  as  with 
their  eyes.  And  so  she  did.  She  cried  so  that 
women  heard  her  in  their  kitchens,  where  they 
were  busy  about  the  stove,  and  came  running 
to  the  door  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Men 
came  hurrying  around  the  corners  of  the  street. 
There  was  a  crowd.  Jesus  went  on,  and  she 
came  after  crying,  and  the  crowd  followed. 

At  last  the  apostles  said,  "  Master,  send  her 
away,  for  she  cries  after  us.  We  came  here  to 
be  hid,  and  she  is  raising  the  whole  town  about 
our  heels."  The  apostles  were  annoyed  and 
impatient.  I  wish  that  one  of  them  had  said, 
"  Master,  is  there  not  something  which  we 
can  do  for  her?"  But  they  showed  no  pity. 
There  was  a  time,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
people  had  an  idea  that  it  was  a  good  plan  to 
pray  to  the  saints.  The  saints,  they  thought, 
would  be  more  likely  to  hear  them  than  God. 


IN  THE   LAND   OF  TYRE  AND  SIDON    207 

This  story  does  not  bear  out  that  belief.  Of 
course,  Peter  and  Andrew,  and  James  and 
John  and  the  others  were  better  men  after- 
wards than  they  were  that  day  in  the  Tyrian 
village ;  but  I  should  think  that  when  this  re- 
mark of  theirs  was  read  in  church,  it  might 
have  discouraged  some  of  those  who  were  pray- 
ing to  them.  Might  not  Peter  still  be  inclined 
to  say,  "  Send  her  away,  for  she  crieth  after 
us?"  One  time,  our  Lord  and  the  Twelve 
were  going  to  Jerusalem,  and  they  came  at 
nightfall  to  a  village  in  Samaria,  and  nobody 
would  take  them  in ;  and  James  and  John 
proposed  that  he  should  call  down  thunder 
and  lightning  and  destroy  them  all.  None  of 
the  saints  —  even  the  best  of  them  —  has 
ever  been  so  loving  as  he. 

But  this  time  our  Lord  answered  his  apostles, 
and  it  seemed  for  the  moment  that  he  would 
do  as  they  suggested.  "  I  am  not  sent,"  he 
said,  "  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel."  That  is,  the  lost  sheep  for  whom  I  am 
seeking  are  not  of  this  heathen  fold.  I  am 
concerned  about  the  Jewish  sheep.  And  so 


208  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

he  was.  He  had,  indeed,  been  criticised  for  his 
brotherly  dealings  with  outsiders,  but  up  to 
this  time  he  had  really  had  little  to  do  with 
them.  When  he  sent  his  apostles  out  to  preach 
and  heal,  he  had  told  them  to  go  only  to  the 
Jews.  Because  all  good  work  must  begin  with 
the  doing  of  one  thing  well.  Nobody  succeeds 
who  is  content  to  help  a  great  many  people  a 
little.  The  true  way  is  to  help  a  few  people  a 
great  deal.  Then  these  few  will  be  helpers  in 
their  turn.  Thus,  more  slowly  but  more  surely, 
will  the  great  work  be  done.  Accordingly,  our 
Lord  had  addressed  himself  to  the  Jews,  his 
own  people.  He  had  sought  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel.  That,  as  he  said,  had  been 
his  mission.  That  had  been  his  wise  plan. 
Thus  he  spoke,  and  the  woman  heard. 

Did  that  send  her  away  ?  Not  for  a  moment. 
It  may  be  that  the  tone  of  voice  explained  the 
words,  so  that  she  knew  that  he  was  but  think- 
ing aloud,  considering  what  he  would  better 
do :  "  Thus  have  I  done  through  all  my  min- 
istry ;  shall  I  now  change  ? "  Anyhow,  the 
woman  made  her  way  through  the  reluctant 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  TYRE  AND  SIDON    209 

company  of  the  apostles,  past  St.  Peter  and 
St.  John  and  St.  Simon  the  Zealot  and  St. 
Matthew  the  Publican,  and  fell  down  on  her 
knees  at  our  Lord's  feet,  so  that  he  stood  still, 
looking  at  her.  "  Lord,  help  me  !  "  she  cried, 
and  there  was  hope  and  faith  in  her  voice. 
The  saints  were  no  friends  of  hers,  but  he 
would  be  her  friend.  "  Lord,  help  me  !  "  But 
he  answered,  half  musing  and  half  smiling, 
"  It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread 
and  to  cast  it  to  dogs."  As  if  he  said,  "  Don't 
you  know  that  I  am  a  Jew,  and  that  Jews 
believe  that  they  belong  to  the  household  of 
the  heavenly  Father,  while  you  Gentiles  are 
but  dogs  ?  "  Did  he  think,  as  he  spoke,  of 
the  contrast  between  the  cold  unbelief  of  the 
scribes,  with  their  great  pretensions,  and  the 
warm  faith  of  this  heathen  woman  whom  they 
despised  ?  Did  he  take  these  hard  words  upon 
his  lips,  showing  by  his  tone  of  voice  that  he 
did  but  quote  the  common  saying  of  his  nar- 
row countrymen,  and  that  he  had  no  sympathy 
with  it  ?  It  is  plain,  at  least,  that  the  woman 
understood  him.  She  looked  into  his  face 


210  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

and  saw  only  kindness  there.  "  Shall  the 
dogs,"  he  said,  "ask  for  the  children's  bread?" 
"  Yes,  Lord,"  she  cried,  "  not  the  bread,  but 
the  crumbs ;  even  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs 
which  fall  from  their  master's  table."  And  the 
Lord  replied,  "  0  woman,  great  is  thy  faith : 
be  it  unto  thee  according  as  thou  wilt." 

So  the  woman  went  home  with  a  glad  heart, 
and  before  she  got  to  the  house  there  were  the 
neighbors  running  out  to  meet  her,  and  the 
little  girl  herself  stood  at  the  gate. 


Ill 

WHAT  A  BLIND  MAN  SAW 

THEN  our  Lord  spent  a  long  time  in  the 
country  which  lies  to  the  north  and  to  the 
east  of  the  land  of  the  Jews.  Several  times 
he  appeared  unexpectedly  in  Jerusalem,  on  the 
great  church  days,  and  there  spoke  in  pub- 
lic places  where  large  companies  heard  him. 
But  he  never  spent  the  night  in  town.  He  had 
a  friend  named  Lazarus,  who  with  two  sisters, 
Mary  and  Martha,  lived  in  Bethany,  a  little 
place  near  Jerusalem.  It  is  likely  that  he  was 
their  guest.  It  was  not  safe  for  him  to  stay  in 
the  city,  for  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  him. 

On  these  occasions  the  people  were  much 
perplexed  about  him,  not  knowing  what  to 
think.  We  can  even  hear  them  talking  among 
themselves,  quite  as  the  Romans  talk  in  Shake- 
speare's play  when  Julius  Caesar  rides  in  pro- 
cession. As  the  Master  speaks,  First  Citizen 
says  to  his  neighbor,  "  Of  a  truth,  this  is  the 
Prophet."  Second  Citizen  answers,  with  em- 


212  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

phasis,  striking  one  hand  upon  the  other, 
"This  is  the  Christ."  But  Third  Citizen 
rebukes  them,  crying,  "  He  hath  a  devil  and 
is  mad;  why  hear  ye  him  ?  "  To  which  First 
Citizen  and  Second  Citizen  indeed  reply, 
"  These  are  not  the  words  of  him  that  hath 
a  devil ; "  but  they  do  not  speak  with  much 
assurance,  and  by  and  by,  at  the  urging  of 
the  authorities,  all  these  citizens  begin  to 
look  about  in  the  road  for  stones  to  throw 
at  him. 

There  were  two  parties  in  the  state  and  in 
the  church.  Those  who  belonged  to  one  party 
were  called  Sadducees ;  those  who  belonged  to 
the  other  were  called  Pharisees.  The  priests 
of  the  temple  and  most  of  the  officers  of  gov- 
ernment were  Sadducees ;  the  ministers  of  the 
synagogues  were  Pharisees.  The  Sadducees  car- 
ried on  elaborate  services ;  the  Pharisees  cared 
more  for  sermons.  The  Sadducees  were  a  small 
party,  confined  almost  entirely  to  Jerusalem ; 
the  Pharisees  included  in  their  party  most  of 
the  good,  earnest,  religious  people  of  the  na- 
tion. It  was  the  Pharisees  who  hated  our  Lord 


JESUS  WITH    MARY    AND    MARTHA   AT   BETHANY 


WHAT  A  BLIND  MAN  SAW          213 

because  he  disregarded  their  customs.  The 
Sadducees  hated  him  because  they  were  afraid 
that  he  would  stir  up  a  revolution.  "  The  Ro- 
mans will  come,"  they  said,  "  and  take  away 
our  place  and  nation."  One  day  the  two  par- 
ties united  in  sending  the  police  to  arrest  our 
Lord,  intending  to  shut  him  up  in  jail.  But 
the  officers  came  back  empty-handed.  "Why 
have  ye  not  brought  him  ?  "  cried  the  Saddu- 
cees and  Pharisees.  The  officers  answered, 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  They  had 
stood  in  the  crowd,  listening  to  him. 

From  these  visits,  as  I  said,  our  Lord  re- 
turned to  the  lands  where  there  were  no  Jews, 
or  very  few.  One  day  he  was  in  the  city  of 
Bethsaida.  This  was  not  the  fishing  town 
where  some  of  the  Twelve  had  lived,  but  a 
place  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  mostly  inhabited 
by  Romans.  There  the  signs  in  the  shop  win- 
dows were  in  Latin,  and  even  the  smallest  boys 
and  girls  spoke  Latin  as  they  played  together 
in  the  street.  Our  Lord  was  walking  along, 
and  there  came  to  him  a  little  group  of  men 
leading  a  blind  man. 


214  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Now,  the  fact  that  one  cannot  see  does  not 
imply  that  he  cannot  speak.  Indeed,  this 
man  did  finally  speak  ;  but  net  at  first.  At  first 
he  said  never  a  word,  letting  his  friends  do  all 
the  talking.  Probably  the  man  came  to  Jesus 
because  he  was  persuaded  by  his  friends.  He 
had  no  desire  to  come.  He  had  been  to  all  the 
doctors,  and  not  one  had  given  him  a  ray 
of  light.  He  had  no  faith  in  doctors.  "  But 
this  is  not  a  doctor,"  said  his  friends.  "  This 
is  a  man  of  God.  When  he  speaks,  even  in 
Bethsaida,  God  hears  in  heaven  and  answers." 
So  they  persuaded  him.  "  Very  well,"  he  said, 
"  I  will  go  to  please  you,  but  I  don't  believe 
in  it.  It  is  all  folly  and  delusion.  And  I  will 
not  ask  him  to  heal  me.  You  may,  if  you 
choose,  but  not  I."  Thus  he  came  into  our 
Lord's  presence,  actually  blind,  and  practically 
dumb. 

Our  Lord  took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand 
and  led  him  out  of  the  town.  He  took  him  away 
alone,  apart  from  all  his  friends.  This  he  did 
partly  that  he  might  have  a  chance  to  talk  to 
the  man  quietly  and  intimately,  and  partly 


WHAT  A  BLIND  MAN   SAW          215 

that  the  blind  man  might  have  a  chance  to 
talk  to  him.  For  after  the  man  had  declared 
to  his  friends  that  he  would  not  say  a  word, 
not  a  word  was  he  likely  to  say  so  long  as  his 
friends  were  by  to  hear.  Along  they  went, 
then,  the  Master  and  the  man,  down  one  street 
and  up  another,  past  the  houses,  out  into  the 
green  country.  With  every  step,  as  our  Lord 
held  the  man's  hand  and  talked  in  his  gentle 
and  wonderful  way,  the  man's  mind  began  to 
change ;  he  began  to  think  that  one  who  could 
speak  in  that  way  could  do  whatsoever  he  would. 
Indeed,  the  walk  was  a  necessary  part  of  the 
cure,  for  if  the  man  continued  in  his  indiffer- 
ence and  unbelief,  our  Lord  himself  could  not 
help  him.  Thus,  one  time  in  a  certain  place, 
our  Lord  could  do  no  mighty  work  because 
of  the  unbelief  of  the  people.  The  faith  of 
the  man  himself  was  an  essential  part  of  the 
miracle.  And  on  the  way,  the  man's  faith 
grew. 

At  last,  they  were  quite  out  of  the  town, 
and  our  Lord  stopped.  He  touched  his  fingers 
to  his  lips  and  placed  them  on  the  man's  blind 


216  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

eyes.  "  Now,"  he  said,  as  he  took  away  his 
hand,  "do  you  see  anything?"  The  man 
looked  up,  and  there  was  a  strange  new  light 
before  him,  as  if  after  a  black  night  the  sun 
were  dimly  rising  far  away.  "  Yes,"  the  man 
cried,  "  I  can  see !  I  can  see  !  Why,  I  see  men 
walking  about  like  trees ! "  What  did  he 
mean?  He  said  that  he  could  see  trees  and 
men  coming  hand  in  hand  along  the  country 
road,  looking  like  brothers.  That,  I  suppose, 
is  the  way  in  which  even  now  we  see  with  our 
minds.  We  see  God  and  great  truths  about 
him  and  ourselves  in  a  dim,  confused  way, 
like  the  man  who  saw  the  procession  of  the 
trees.  He  was  like  one  who  walks  in  a  fog. 
Sometimes  in  a  fog  it  is  hard  to  tell,  at  a  little 
distance,  which  are  trees  and  which  are  men. 
So  we  look  about,  ignorantly,  in  this  wonder- 
ful world. 

But  after  that,  Jesus  put  his  hands  upon  his 
eyes  and  made  him  look  up  ;  and  he  was  re- 
stored, and  saw  every  man  clearly.  That  clear 
sight,  we  hope,  will  come  sometime  to  us,  and 
we  shall  understand  the  meaning  of  the  words 


WHAT  A  BLIND   MAN  SAW          217 

and  works  of  God.  Then  our  Lord  sent  the 
man  away  to  his  home,  saying, "  Do  not  go  into 
the  town,  nor  tell  it  to  any  in  the  town."  For 
he  did  not  wish  to  draw  a  crowd  about  him, 
nor  about  the  man. 


IV 
A  HOCK  FOR  A  CORNER-STONE 

IN  those  days  our  Lord  and  the  Twelve  were 
continually  going  about  from  place  to  place, 
mostly  among  heathen  people.  Wherever  they 
went,  they  walked ;  and  as  they  walked,  they 
talked.  Many  people  passed  them  on  the  road 
without  looking  at  them  twice.  Men  with  gar- 
den stuff  to  sell  at  the  next  market  pushed  on, 
leaving  the  Twelve  and  the  Master  in  a  cloud 
of  dust ;  and  when  their  wives  said,  "  What 
did  you  see  when  you  went  to  town  to-day  ?  " 
they  shook  their  heads,  saying  that  they  had 
seen  no  sights.  They  had  passed  St.  Peter  and 
St.  John  and  St.  Andrew  and  St.  James  and 
eight  other  apostles,  and  the  Lord  in  the  midst 
of  them !  If  a  single  marketman  had  but 
stopped  and  asked  two  sensible  questions,  no 
matter  what,  and  then  when  he  reached  home 
had  written  down  the  answers  and  kept  them 
for  us,  he  would  have  been  one  of  the  bene- 
factors of  the  race,  and  famous  to  the  end  of 


A  ROCK  FOR  A  CORNER-STONE     219 

time.  Suppose  he  had  said,  "What  is  it  of 
which  you  men  are  talking  as  you  walk  and 
are  glad  ?  "  But  they  all  went  on  about  their 
dull  business  and  asked  nothing. 

One  day,  as  the  Twelve  were  speaking  of 
their  experiences  in  their  own  country,  before 
they  were  driven  out,  our  Lord  said,  "  What 
do  they  say  of  me  ?  What  did  you  hear  as  you 
went  about  ?  Whom  do  men  say  that  I  am  ?  " 
The  Twelve  answered,  "  Most  men  say  that 
you  are  John  the  Baptist  come  to  life  again ; 
though  some  think  that  you  are  Elijah  ;  while 
others  have  a  vague  idea  that  you  are  one  of 
the  old  prophets,  they  know  not  which." 

The  people  do  not  seem  to  have  thought 
of  him  as  meek  and  lowly.  Both  John  the 
Baptist  and  Elijah  were  strong,  masterful 
persons,  who  came  with  a  great  message  from 
God,  and  defied  kings.  The  prophet,  as  I  said, 
was  commonly  a  revolutionist,  dangerous  to  all 
bad  men.  Such  was  the  impression  which  Jesus 
made  upon  such  of  his  countrymen  as  were 
but  slightly  acquainted  with  him.  They  saw 
that  he  was  a  kind  and  tender  friend  to  all 


220  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

who  were  in  trouble,  and  that  he  seemed  to  be- 
long to  heaven  rather  than  to  earth,  like  a  saint 
come  down  from  Paradise  on  a  short  visit ;  but 
they  saw  also  that  he  was  very  stern  to  those 
who  were  setting  their  customs  above  the  word 
of  God,  and  wearing  pious  faces  to  make  men 
think  them  better  than  they  were,  and  that  he 
was  one  who  at  any  moment  might  begin  to 
cast  down  the  mighty  from  their  seats.  Many 
persons,  for  excellent  reasons,  were  afraid  of 
him.  This  is  what  the  apostles  had  heard  as 
they  sat  at  people's  tables  in  the  country 
towns. 

"But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am?"  Then 
Peter,  who  was  a  quick,  impulsive  person, 
always  first  to  speak  and  first  to  act,  said, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  And  the  Lord  answered,  "  Blessed  art 
thou,  Peter.  No  man  told  you  that.  You 
have  been  taught  it  from  heaven.  And  now  I 
say  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Towns  had  gates 
in  that  country,  and  there  men  gathered  to- 


A   ROCK  FOR  A  CORNER-STONE      221 

gether,  talking  and  making  plans  and  bargains. 
Our  Lord  said  that  all  the  plots  of  the  wicked 
should  not  prevail  against  his  church. 

Had  he  been  teaching  them  about  the 
church  ?  We  do  not  know.  All  that  we  know 
is  that  for  a  moment  he  looked  into  the  long 
future.  There  he  stood,  hated  by  the  leaders 
of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged,  forsaken 
by  most  of  his  disciples,  with  only  the  Twelve 
about  him,  and  they,  like  him,  fugitives  from 
their  own  country,  in  the  midst  of  strangers. 
It  seemed  a  situation  which  called  for  grief 
and  discouragement.  It  looked  like  utter  fail- 
ure. But  he  knew  how  that  which  we  call 
failure  is  sometimes  splendid  success  in  God's 
sight.  He  saw  the  church  founded  on  a  rock, 
and  builded  to  the  skies. 

Peter's  name  was  Simon,  and  when  he  was 
called  by  his  full  name,  it  was  Simon  Bar-jona, 
which  means  in  English,  Simon  Johnson.  But 
our  Lord  had  named  him  Peter,  meaning  stone 
or  rock,  as  a  man  on  whom  he  could  depend. 
Peter  had  now  said  the  word  on  which  the 
church  should  stand :  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 


222  WHEN  THE  KING   CAME 

the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Immediately  our 
Lord  warned  the  disciples  that  they  must  keep 
all  this  a  secret.  Peter  had  spoken  the  truth ; 
they  knew  now  who  their  great  friend  was ; 
but  they  must  not  tell.  If  they  did  tell,  it  was 
certain  that  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  would 
kill  him. 

For  neither  the  Sadducees  nor  the  Pharisees 
could  believe  that  one  so  unlike  themselves 
was  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  If  he  was,  then 
they  were  all  wrong,  and  must  change  the 
whole  course  of  their  lives.  Everything  that 
they  stood  for  was  at  stake.  They  already 
suspected  that  this  was  what  he  claimed  to  be. 
Once  they  tried  to  get  him  to  confess  it,  say- 
ing, "  How  long  dost  thou  make  us  to  doubt  ? 
If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."  But  he 
would  not  tell  them.  The  moment  he  told 
them,  his  ministry  and  his  life  together  would 
come  to  a  sudden  end ;  he  would  die  a  death 
of  violence.  Sometime,  indeed,  they  must  be 
told,  but  not  yet ;  and  when  the  time  came,  he 
himself  would  tell  them.  Meanwhile,  he  mado 
the  apostles  promise  to  keep  the  great  truth 


A  ROCK  FOR  A  CORNER-STONE      223 

to  themselves.  Even  they  could  hardly  see 
more  than  the  beginning  of  its  meaning. 
They  were  like  the  man  who  saw  men  looking 
like  trees.  But  there  it  was,  the  supreme  truth 
which  is  at  the  heart  of  the  church,  and  by 
which  we  all  live ;  that  in  Jesus  Christ  God 
spoke  to  us  and  dwelt  amongst  us.  On  this 
rock,  as  on  a  corner-stone,  the  church  is 
founded. 

He  began  to  teach  them  that  the  Son  of 
man  must  suffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected 
and  be  killed.  He  added  that  he  would  be 
raised  again  from  the  dead,  but  they  did  not 
understand  that.  The  fact  which  affected  them 
was  that  their  Master  must  die.  Now  that  they 
really  knew  him,  and  knew  that  he  was  divine 
as  well  as  human,  he  must  be  violently  parted 
from  them,  and  be  put  to  death.  Why  must 
he  die,  a  young  man,  hardly  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age?  They  could  not  bear  it.  And 
Peter,  speaking  again  in  his  quick  way,  cried, 
"  Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord ;  this  shall  never 
be  unto  thee."  To  which  he  replied  in  words 
which  mean,  "  I  know  how  hard  it  is ;  I  who 


224  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

love  life  and  hate  death.  All  my  human  na- 
ture bids  me  to  escape.  I  pray  God  even  now 
that  this  bitter  cup  may  somehow  be  taken 
away  from  me,  that  I  may  not  drink  it.  But 
I  know  that  the  end  will  be  as  I  have  said. 
And  you  too,  friends,  must  suffer.  You  in 
your  turn  must  take  up  your  cross  and  follow 
me  to  death." 


AMONG  the  Twelve  were  three  whom  our  Lord 
loved  more  than  the  others.  This  he  showed 
by  liking  to  have  them  near  him.  Thus,  when 
he  went  into  the  room  where  the  minister's 
little  daughter  lay,  white  and  cold,  upon  her 
bed,  he  left  nine  apostles  outside,  and  took 
with  him  only  these  three,  Peter  and  James 
and  John.  This  was  not  because  they  were 
so  much  better  than  the  others.  None  of  the 
nine,  except  Judas,  made  such  mistakes  or  had 
such  faults  as  the  three.  I  suppose  that  the 
explanation  is  that  Peter  and  James  and  John 
loved  him  more,  and  he  was  able  to  give  them 
more  of  his  love  because  they  were  able  to  re- 
ceive it.  Anyhow,  he  preferred  their  company. 
One  day  he  took  these  three  with  him  to 
climb  a  mountain,  leaving  the  nine  to  wait  in 
the  valley.  And  on  the  way  down  he  said, 
"  You  must  not  tell.  You  must  keep  it  a  deep 
secret  until  I  shall  rise  from  the  dead."  They 


226  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

did  not  know  what  he  meant  by  rising  from 
the  dead,  but  they  promised  him  that  they 
would  tell  no  man  what  they  had  seen  upon 
the  height.  Then  for  months  and  months  they 
went  about  remembering  a  strange  and  won- 
derful sight,  and  wishing  that  they  could  speak 
of  it  to  Andrew  and  Philip  and  the  rest,  but 
saying  never  a  word  till  the  time  came.  For 
they  knew  how  to  keep  a  secret.  Then  they 
told. 

They  said,  "  You  remember  that  day  when 
we  knew  for  the  first  time  that  our  Master  was 
the  King  of  Glory,  and  when  for  the  first  time 
he  told  us  that  he  must  be  put  to  death.  You 
remember  how  we  thought  about  it  all  that 
week,  and  talked  among  ourselves  sometimes 
with  pride  and  sometimes  with  grief,  and  how 
at  the  end  of  the  week  we  three  went  away 
with  him  alone  while  you  stayed  below.  That 
night  a  marvelous  thing  happened,  but  he  told 
us  not  to  tell.  Now  the  time  has  come  when 
there  is  no  more  need  of  secrecy.  Listen,  thus 
it  was."  And  they  spoke,  while  the  others  sat 
about  them  with  open  ears  and  eyes. 


THE  KING  IN  HIS   BEAUTY          227 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  the  day,  when  our 
Lord  and  the  three  began  to  ascend  the  moun- 
tain. As  they  were  going  up,  the  sun  was 
going  down.  And  the  shadows  deepened  on 
their  path,  and  the  stars  came  out ;  and  below, 
when  they  came  to  a  clear  place  and  could 
look  off,  the  lights  of  the  scattered  farmhouses, 
like  other  stars,  were  shining  in  the  dark.  Pre- 
sently they  stopped,  and  were  silent  in  the 
solemn  stillness.  And  our  Lord  began  to  pray. 
It  was  for  this  he  had  brought  them  apart 
upon  the  mountain,  that  they  might  feel  the 
presence  of  God,  and  pray. 

He  liked  to  pray  in  lonely  places.  Some- 
times, as  when  he  was  at  Capernaum,  he  rose 
very  early  in  the  morning  and  went  to  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  there  walked,  looking 
at  the  sky  and  at  the  ground,  with  holy 
thoughts  in  his  heart.  Once  he  told  his  dis- 
ciples that  it  was  a  good  plan,  when  they 
prayed,  to  shut  the  door.  Some  of  the  Pharisees 
had  a  way  of  saying  their  prayers  standing  on 
the  corner  of  the  street,  folding  their  hands 
and  lifting  their  eyes  to  heaven,  so  that 


228  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

people  who  passed  by  should  say,  "  See  that 
good  man  ! "  Our  Lord  did  not  approve  of 
that.  He  greatly  disliked  every  form  of  "  show- 
ing off."  So  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "  When 
you  pray,  go  into  your  room  and  close  the 
door."  That  night  on  the  mountain  the  dark- 
ness was  like  a  door  between  him  and  the 
world. 

There,  then,  he  prayed,  not  asking  God  to 
give  him  this  or  that,  but  simply  standing  in 
the  presence  of  God,  as  a  little  child  stands  by 
his  father's  knee ;  feeling  the  nearness  and  the 
love  of  God,  praying  in  his  heart  rather  than 
with  his  lips.  But  the  three  were  tired,  and 
it  was  late,  and  the  night  was  dark  and 
still.  One  would  hardly  think  that  the  saints 
would  go  to  sleep  saying  their  prayers ;  but 
these  saints  did.  As  they  prayed  their  eyes 
grew  heavy,  and  before  they  knew  it  they 
were  fast  asleep.  How  long  they  slept,  they 
did  not  know;  but  suddenly,  in  the  midst 
of  their  dreams,  they  saw  a  light.  They 
opened  their  eyes,  heavy  with  sleep,  and 
there  was  our  Lord  still  praying,  but  now  his 


THE  KING  IN  HIS  BEAUTY          229 

clothes  were  shining  with  a  dazzling  whiteness, 
like  the  clouds  on  a  bright  day,  and  his  face 
was  like  the  sun  when  it  looks  down  at  noon. 
There  he  stood,  the  King  of  Glory  indeed,  no 
longer  dressed  like  a  carpenter,  but  clad  in  ra- 
diant garments  like  the  angels,  with  the  glory 
of  heaven  reflected  in  his  eyes.  And  there  were 
two  men  with  him.  How  Peter  and  John  and 
James  knew  them  I  cannot  tell,  unless  it  was 
by  hearing  how  our  Lord  addressed  them ;  for 
they  had  not  come  up  from  the  valley,  but  down 
from  the  sky,  having  died  hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds of  years  before.  One  was  Moses,  who 
met  God  on  Mt.  Sinai  and  brought  down  the 
Ten  Commandments.  The  other  was  Elijah, 
who  prayed  to  God  on  Mt.  Carmel,  and  was 
wonderfully  answered  with  lightning  and  rain. 
Our  Lord  stood  between  these  two  great  men 
and  they  talked  together,  and  the  three  dis- 
ciples, half  asleep  and  half  awake,  heard  dimly 
that  the  subject  of  their  conversation  was  our 
Lord's  approaching  dreadful  death,  of  which 
he  had  spoken  a  week  before.  Indeed,  it  was 
as  if  the  words  which  he  had  then  uttered  were 


230  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

now  wonderfully  acted  out :  the  Son  of  the 
living  God  in  his  divine  glory  speaking  of  the 
cross. 

And  when  the  heavenly  visitants  made  as 
if  they  would  return  to  that  blessed  paradise 
whence  they  had  come,  Peter  started  up,  in 
his  impulsive  way,  as  if  to  detain  them. 
Hardly  knowing  what  he  said,  through  fear 
and  sleep,  "  Master,"  he  cried,  "  it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here.  Let  us  make  three  tents,  one  for 
thee  and  one  for  Moses  and  one  for  Elijah." 
He  and  his  two  companions  would  pull  down 
branches  from  the  trees,  that  Jesus  and  Moses 
and  Elijah  might  stay  upon  the  mountain. 
But  as  he  was  speaking,  there  came  a  swift  and 
blinding  cloud,  like  a  sudden  fog  blown  in 
from  the  sea,  and  the  disciples  were  filled  with 
fear,  and  fell  upon  the  ground,  covering  their 
faces  with  their  hands.  And  out  of  the  cloud 
came  a  voice,  such  as  had  spoken  at  our  Lord's 
baptism,  saying,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son ; 
hear  him."  And  Jesus  came  and  touched  them, 
saying,  "  Arise,  be  not  afraid."  And  when 
they  looked  up,  it  was  dark  night  again,  with 


THE   KING  IN  HIS  BEAUTY          231 

the  stars  shining,  and  they  saw  no  man  any 
more  save  Jesus  only  with  themselves. 

Then,  the  next  day,  as  they  went  down,  he 
told  them  not  to  tell.  And  they  kept  it  in 
their  hearts,  remembering  how  they  had  seen 
his  glory,  the  glory  of  the  Son  o£  God. 


VI 

THE  LAD  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  HILL 

THE  next  day  after  the  vision  of  the  King 
of  Glory,  two  very  different  groups  of  people 
were  approaching  one  another  from  different 
directions.  One  was  our  Lord  and  the  three 
disciples  coming  down  the  hill,  the  other  was 
a  man  and  a  boy  making  their  way  along  the 
valley. 

This  boy  had  something  strange  and  dread- 
ful the  matter  with  him.  Sometimes  at  home 
his  mother  would  hear  a  loud  cry  of  distress 
in  the  next  room,  and  running  in,  would  find 
the  boy  in  the  middle  of  the  fire.  And  he 
would  say  that  somebody  had  pushed  him  in ; 
but  there  was  nobody  in  the  room  except  the 
lad  himself.  Close  by  his  house  was  a  deep 
pond,  and  the  boy  was  always  getting  into  it. 
The  moment  he  found  that  no  one  was  watch- 
ing him  he  would  run  and  jump  and  throw 
himself  into  the  water,  so  that  many  times  he 
was  almost  drowned.  And  he  would  say  that 


THE  LAD  AT  FOOT  OF  THE  HILL    233 

somebody  had  taken  him  by  the  shoulders 
and  thrust  him  in  ;  but  nobody  was  ever  to  be 
seen  who  could  have  done  so  mean  a  thing. 
Then,  when  he  was  playing  with  the  other 
boys,  something  would  happen  which  was  not 
in  the  game.  He  would  suddenly  give  a  cry, 
and  fall  upon  the  ground  and  gnash  his  teeth, 
and  foam  at  the  mouth.  And  he  would  say 
that  somebody  had  knocked  him  down,  but 
not  a  hand  had  touched  him.  Besides  all  this, 
he  was  deaf  and  dumb.  Never  a  word  could 
he  either  hear  or  speak.  And  he  kept  growing 
weaker,  pining  away,  so  that  it  seemed  as  if 
he  must  soon  die. 

The  secret  of  it  all  was  that  he  had  an  evil 
spirit;  that  is,  as  we  say  nowadays,  he  had 
times  of  being  violently  crazy. 

Of  course,  his  father  and  mother  had  called 
in  all  the  doctors,  and  even  the  ministers  ;  for 
the  ministers  were  sometimes  able  to  cure  crazy 
people.  But  none  of  them  had  helped  him. 
At  last,  the  news  came  that  the  Prophet  of 
Nazareth  was  in  that  neighborhood.  The  lad's 
parents  did  not  quite  know  who  the  Prophet 


234  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

of  Nazareth  was  :  for  some  said  this  and  some 
said  that  about  him.  There  was  a  rumor  that 
the  people  of  his  own  country  had  cast  him  out. 
All  agreed,  however,  that  he  was  very  kind, 
and  that  he  had  expelled  many  devils.  So  in 
the  early  morning  of  that  day,  the  father  spoke 
to  the  boy,  making  motions  with  his  hands, 
and  told  him  that  they  were  to  take  a  long 
walk,  and  that  at  the  end  of  the  road  they 
would  find  one  who  would  make  him  well,  so 
that  he  should  no  longer  fall  into  the  fire  or 
into  the  water. 

But  the  two  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill  be- 
fore the  Master  and  the  three  came  down. 
Only  the  nine  were  there.  Meanwhile  a  crowd 
had  gathered.  There  were  friends  of  the  family 
who  had  come  along  to  see  the  cure,  and  many 
idle  persons  such  as  are  always  ready  to  fol- 
low a  crowd,  and  some  of  the  ministers.  For 
although  it  was  a  heathen  country,  some  Jews 
were  living  there.  The  father  said,  "  Where  is 
the  Prophet  ?  "  The  apostles  answered,  "  He 
is  in  the  mountain.  Last  night  he  went  up, 
leaving  us  here  to  wait  for  him."  "  When  will 


THE  LAD  AT  FOOT  OF  THE  HILL     235 

he  come  down  ?  "  "  We  do  not  know  ;  perhaps 
to-day,  perhaps  not  till  to-morrow.  What  do 
you  want  ?  "  "I  have  brought  my  sick  son. 
You  are  the  Prophet's  disciples,  can  you  not 
cast  out  a  devil?"  "Oh,  yes!"  they  said, 
"  we  know  how  to  cast  out  devils.  Bring  the 
boy  to  us."  So  the  boy  was  brought,  and  the 
multitude  pressed  in  on  every  side,  and  Mat- 
thew and  Andrew  and  the  others  prayed 
and  made  motions,  and  tried  to  do  what 
they  had  seen  the  Master  do,  but  all  in  vain. 
The  boy  lay  upon  the  ground  in  great  dis- 
tress ;  his  father  was  in  despair ;  and  the 
disappointed  people  were  becoming  more  and 
more  angry.  "  These  men  are  impostors," 
some  were  saying.  "  Shall  we  not  stone 
them  ?  " 

All  this  time  our  Lord  was  coming  down  along 
the  quiet  road  beneath  the  trees,  with  the  three 
disciples  beside  him.  But  as  they  neared  the 
foot  of  the  hill  they  began  to  hear  loud  voices, 
as  of  men  in  a  dispute,  and  now  and  then 
a  scream,  as  if  there  were  some  one  in  distress. 
And  presently  they  came  in  sight  of  the  noisy 


236  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

crowd,  who  were  shaking  their  fists  in  the 
apostles'  faces.  And  somebody  looked  up,  and 
cried,  "  There  is  the  Prophet  now !  "  and  they 
all  ran  to  meet  him,  and  when  they  beheld  him 
they  were  greatly  amazed,  like  the  people  of 
the  old  time  who  saw  the  face  of  Moses  shin- 
ing as  he  came  down  from  Sinai,  and  running 
to  him,  they  saluted  him.  And  he  asked  the 
ministers,  "  What  is  the  matter  ?  What  is  the 
question  which  you  are  so  bitterly  debating  ?  " 
And  while  they  sought  for  words  with  which 
to  answer  him,  the  father  came.  "Master,"  he 
cried,  "  I  have  brought  unto  thee  my  son,  which 
hath  a  dumb  spirit ;  and  wheresoever  he  taketh 
him  he  teareth  him  ;  and  he  foameth,  and 
gnasheth  with  his  teeth,  and  pineth  away;  and 
I  spake  unto  thy  disciples  that  they  should  cast 
him  out ;  and  they  could  not." 

And  the  Master  looked  at  the  disciples,  and 
what  he  saw  in  their  faces  troubled  him  greatly. 
For  he  saw  that  they  were  thinking  of  them- 
selves. We  know  that,  because  of  two  con- 
fessions which  they  made  the  next  day.  They 
confessed  that  they  had  been  disputing  among 


THE  LAD  AT  FOOT  OF  THE  HILL     237 

themselves  which  was  the  greatest.  They  con- 
fessed, also,  that  they  saw  a  stranger  who  was 
doing  what  they  could  not  do :  he  was  casting 
out  devils.  And  they  stopped  him.  That  is, 
as  the  crowd  came,  the  nine  said,  "  Now  we 
will  show  them  what  great  power  we  have. 
We  will  work  a  miracle ;  wre  will  cast  out  this 
devil,  and  amaze  them."  The  thought  in  their 
hearts  was  not  one  of  pity  for  the  father  and 
the  boy.  They  wanted,  as  we  say,  to  "  show 
off."  Not  for  the  lad's  sake,  and  not  for  the 
Master's  sake,  but  for  their  own  glory,  they 
purposed  to  do  this  deed  of  healing  !  We  may 
guess,  too,  that  Andrew  said,  "  I  am  the  one 
to  lay  my  hands  upon  him,  for  I  was  the  first 
apostle  of  you  all;  "  and  that  Philip  answered, 
"  No,  I  am  the  one,  for  the  Lord  himself  went 
in  search  of  me  and  called  me  ;  "  and  that  the 
others  made  claims  each  for  himself,  saying, 
"  I  am  the  greatest."  And  the  result  was  that 
there  was  no  miracle.  Neither  God  nor  man 
responds  to  that  selfish  spirit. 

Our  Lord  was  greatly  grieved.    His  heart 
was  full  of  the  thought  of  his  coming  death, 


238  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

wherein  he  would  give  himself  for  the  good 
of  men  ;  and  here  were  his  disciples  inter- 
ested only  in  themselves.  It  made  him  feel  his 
loneliness,  in  the  midst  of  people  who  were 
so  far  from  understanding  him.  "  0  faithless 
generation/'  he  sighed,  looking  in  the  faces  of 
the  excited  apostles,  "  how  long  shall  I  be  with 
you  ?  how  long  shall  I  suffer  you  ?  "  And  he 
turned  to  the  father.  "  Bring  thy  son  hither." 
So  he  brought  him,  and  one  of  the  lad's  bad 
fits  came  upon  him,  and  he  fell  upon  the 
ground,  rolling  over  and  over,  foaming  at  the 
mouth.  And  he  asked  his  father,  "  How  long1 

7  O 

ago  is  it  since  this  came  unto  him  ?  "  And  he 
said,  "Of  a  child;  and  ofttimes  it  hath  cast 
him  into  the  fire,  and  into  the  water,  to  destroy 
him  :  but  if  thou  canst  do  anything,  have  com- 
passion on  us,  and  help  us."  Now  that  the 
apostles  had  failed,  the  man  feared  that  the 
Prophet  would  fail  also.  But  our  Lord  said  to 
him,  "  If  thou  canst  believe,  all  things  are  pos- 
sible to  him  that  belie veth."  And  straightway 
the  father  of  the  child  cried  out,  and  said  with 
tears,  "  Lord,  I  believe  ;  help  thou  mine  unbe- 


THE  LAD  AT   FOOT  OF  THE  HILL    239 

lief."  And  the  Lord  said,  "  Thou  dumb  and 
deaf  spirit,  I  charge  thee,  come  out  of  him, 
and  return  no  more  into  him  !  "  And  the  deaf 
spirit  heard,  and  the  dumb  spirit  cried  out  with 
a  loud  voice,  and  the  lad  lay  suddenly  still  with 
shut  eyes,  so  that  many  said,  "  He  is  dead." 
But  Jesus  took  him  by  the  hand  and  lifted 
him  up,  and  he  arose.  And  the  father  and  the 
son  went  home,  hand  in  hand,  praising  God 
and  full  of  gratitude. 


VII 
THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN 

OVER  the  Jordan  lies  a  land  which  was  called 
Perea,  that  is,  the  land  beyond.  There  our 
Lord  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  remaining 
months  of  his  life.  He  went  to  Jerusalem 
for  a  few  days  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles, 
when  he  healed  a  man  born  blind.  He  was 
again  in  the  city  at  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication 
of  the  Temple.  One  of  these  days  came  in  the 
fall,  the  other  in  the  winter.  Perea  was  a 
Jewish  district,  like  Judea  and  Galilee.  In 
the  towns  were  synagogues  and  Pharisees. 

New  disciples  now  gathered  about  him,  and 
one  day  he  chose  seventy  of  them  and  sent 
them  out  before  him  into  the  cities  of  Perea, 
as  he  had  sent  the  Twelve  into  the  cities  of 
Galilee.  So  the  Seventy  went,  healing  the  sick 
and  preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  peo- 
ple listened  to  them,  especially  simple  and 
poor  people.  The  Pharisees  despised  them, 
but  men  and  women  who  lived  on  farms  and 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  241 

in  the  back  streets  of  towns  received  them. 
At  that  time  Jesus  rejoiced  in  spirit,  and  said, 
"  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
unto  babes."  Many  of  the  wise  and  prudent 
hated  our  Lord,  as  they  did  in  Judea.  They 
thought  that  they  knew  all  knowledge,  and 
were  much  displeased  when  he  came  teaching 
things  which  they  had  never  taught.  It  hurt 
their  pride. 

Sometimes  these  people  asked  him  questions, 
hoping  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  answer 
them.  Once,  when  a  company  of  them  sat 
about  him,  a  lawyer  stood  up  and  said,  "  Mas- 
ter, what  shah1  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  " 
This  he  asked,  not  because  he  felt  himself  in 
danger  of  missing  life  eternal,  or  because  he 
wished  our  Lord  to  help  him.  He  spoke  as  a 
lawyer,  whose  business  it  is  to  ask  questions. 
Our  Lord  answered, "  You  have  the  law-books ; 
what  do  you  read  there  ?  " 

For  the  law  meant  more  then  than  it  com- 
monly means  now.  Nobody  would  think  of 


242  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

looking  in  a  modern  law-book  to  find  out  how 
to  inherit  eternal  life.  These  books  are  about 
bargains  and  mortgages  and  corporations  and 
crimes.  People  read  them  to  learn  how  to 
keep  out  of  jail.  But  this  lawyer's  books  were 
full  of  religion.  Some  of  them  are  in  the  Old 
Testament.  They  showed  how  good  and  bad 
actions  affect  not  only  the  present,  but  the  fu- 
ture life  of  men.  So  the  lawyer,  remembering 
the  words  of  his  books,  answered,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength, 
and  with  all  thy  mind ;  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  And  Jesus  said,  "  Thou  hast  an- 
swered right:  this  do,  and  thou  shalt  live." 
But  the  lawyer  was  not  satisfied.  Our  Lord 
had  answered  his  question,  but  that  was  not 
what  he  wanted.  So  he  asked  another,  hoping 
that  this  one  would  be  too  hard  for  him.  He 
said,  "  And  who  is  my  neighbor  ?  "  For  this, 
as  you  remember,  was  one  of  the  matters  of 
difference  between  our  Lord  and  the  chief 
people  of  the  Jews.  They  said  that  the  Jews 
had  no  neighbors  except  such  as  were  of  their 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  243 

own  race  and  religion.  They  did  not  call  Sa- 
maritans, or  Gentiles,  or  publicans,  or  sinners 
neighbors ;  they  called  them  strangers,  and 
had  no  love  towards  them  whatever.  Our 
Lord  replied  in  a  parable. 

He  told  a  story  about  a  man  who  was  walk- 
ing along  a  very  lonely  road.  There  were 
steep  rocks  on  either  side  and  many  sharp 
corners.  Sometimes  the  way  went  down  so 
deep  among  the  cliffs  that  it  was  almost  dark  ; 
sometimes  it  climbed  so  high  upon  the  hills 
that  the  traveler,  as  he  went,  could  look  out 
over  miles  and  miles.  The  man  did  not  seem 
to  enjoy  the  journey.  Every  little  while  he 
stopped  and  listened.  When  he  came  to  a 
corner,  he  looked  very  cautiously  to  see  if  there 
were  anybody  on  the  other  side.  Sometimes, 
when  a  stone  loosened  from  the  rocks  came 
rolling  down  into  the  road,  he  would  look  up, 
greatly  alarmed,  and  wonder  if  somebody's 
foot  had  stirred  the  pebble  from  its  place.  For 
the  traveler  was  afraid  of  robbers. 

The  road  was  called  the  Red  Road,  partly 
because  the  white  rocks  through  which  it  ran 


244  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

had  red  streaks  in  them,  and  partly  because  of 
other  red  streaks  which  were  not  in  the  rocks, 
but  were  made  by  the  blood  of  wounded  men. 
Almost  every  day  robbers  would  rush  out  upon 
some  traveler  and  take  away  all  that  he  had, 
leaving  him  bleeding  by  the  wayside.  That 
is  why  the  man  kept  such  a  sharp  lookout  as 
he  hurried  along. 

At  last,  however,  in  spite  of  all  his  looking 
and  listening,  down  came  the  wild  brigands 
from  behind  a  rock  or  around  a  corner.  They 
caught  the  poor  man,  choked  him,  threw  him 
down  and  beat  him,  and  after  taking  all  his 
goods  and  money,  away  they  went,  leaving  him 
lying  on  the  hard  rocks,  half  dead,  making  the 
Red  Road  redder  than  ever. 

By  and  by  there  came  a  priest  on  his  way 
from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem  to  take  his  part  in 
the  service  of  the  temple.  When  he  saw  this 
poor  man,  he  did  not  stop  to  help  him,  but 
turned  across  to  the  other  side  of  the  road,  and 
went  straight  along,  without  looking  back, 
"  Dear  me,"  he  said,  "  there  have  been  robbers 
here,  and  very  lately,  too.  Perhaps  at  this  very 


THE'  GOOD  SAMARITAN  245 

moment  they  are  dividing  their  spoil  in  the 
thievish  corners  of  the  rocks.  They  may  hear 
my  steps.  This  is  a  place  of  peril.  Let  me  get 
out  of  it  as  soon  as  I  can."  So  on  he  went, 
thinking  only  of  himself. 

Presently  there  came  another  traveler,  bound, 
like  the  priest,  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem,  and 
on  his  way  to  the  temple.  This  man  was  a  Le- 
vite,  that  is,  he  sang  in  the  choir.  The  choir- 
man  saw  at  once  that  something  had  happened, 
and  he  felt  as  many  people  feel  when  there  is  an 
accident.  He  wanted  to  see  how  the  robber's 
victim  looked.  So,  instead  of  going  by  on  the 
other  side,  he  crossed  over  and  stood  beside  the 
wounded  man.  And  the  poor  man,  groaning 
with  pain,  looked  up  and  saw  the  Levite,  and 
said  to  himself,  "  Ah  !  here  is  a  friend  who  will 
give  me  help  ;  he  has  come  to  take  me  up." 
Then  do  you  know  what  the  singer  did  ?  He 
turned  away  and  left  him. 

It  was  as  if  a  company  of  people  were  cast 
away  on  a  desert  island,  and  looking  day 
after  day  across  the  ocean,  watching  for  a  sail ; 
and  one  day  somebody  cries,  "  A  ship  !  a  ship," 


246  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

and  there  is  a  splendid  vessel  with  flags  flying ; 
and  they  hail  the  ship,  and  the  captain  hears  or 
sees  and  begins  to  come  in  towards  the  land ; 
and  their  hearts  are  filled  with  joy  and  they 
hurry  about  packing  their  things,  making  ready 
to  go  home ;  and  then,  suddenly,  without  a 
word,  the  ship  turns  and  sails  away  and  presently 
is  out  of  sight.  How  disappointed  they  would 
be  !  It  would  have  been  better  not  to  have  seen 
the  ship  at  all.  It  was  with  such  a  feeling  that 
the  wounded  man  watched  the  Levite  as  he 
climbed  the  hill.  So  the  Levite  left  him.  And 
presently  the  priest  was  praying  and  the  Levite 
was  singing  in  the  service,  as  if  they  thought 
that  God  sees  only  what  takes  place  in  church, 
and  does  not  know  what  happens  on  the  road. 
At  last,  there  came  along  a  man  whom  all 
the  Levites  and  the  priests  disliked,  because  he 
did  not  go  to  their  church.  This  man  was  a 
Samaritan.  He  stopped  as  he  saw  the  wounded 
traveler,  and  had  compassion  on  him,  and  went 
to  him  and  bound  up  his  wounds,  pouring  in 
oil  and  wine.  He  lifted  him  up  on  his  own 
horse,  and  walked  beside  him,  supporting 


THE   GOOD   SAMARITAN 


THE   GOOD  SAMARITAN  247 

him.  By  and  by  they  came  to  an  inn,  and  the 
Samaritan  got  a  place  for  the  man  to  sleep, 
and  sat  up  with  him  all  night,  nursing  him. 
Then  in  the  morning,  when  he  must  go  away 
about  his  business,  he  called  the  landlord 
and  paid  the  poor  man's  bill,  and  put  in  hk 
hands  some  money  beside  that,  saying,  "  Take 
care  of  him,  and  if  it  costs  more,  let  me  know 
when  I  come  again,  and  I  will  pay  it."  The 
Samaritan  was  a  stranger  both  to  the  man  and 
to  the  country ;  he  knew  also  that  the  man's 
friends,  and  probably  the  man  himself,  disliked 
Samaritans.  Yet  he  did  all  this. 

"  Now,"  said  our  Lord  to  the  questioning 
lawyer,  "  which  of  these  three,  thinkest  thou, 
was  neighbor  unto  him  that  fell  among  the 
thieves?"  And  he  said,  "He  that  showed 
mercy  on  him."  Then  Jesus  said  unto  him, 
"  Go,  and  do  thou  likewise." 


VIII 
THE  PRODIGAL  SON 

ONE  of  the  reasons  why  the  King  was  hated 
was  that  he  was  so  kind  to  those  whom  the 
great  and  rich  people,  and  even  the  ministers, 
disliked.  The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  felt 
that  Gentiles  and  Samaritans  and  publicans 
and  sinners  should  be  avoided.  But  Jesus  felt 
that  it  was  as  bad  for  good  people  to  keep 
away  from  those  who  were  in  error  or  sin,  as 
it  would  be  for  the  doctors  to  keep  away  from 
the  sick.  So  he  went  amongst  them,  and 
made  friends  with  them,  and  was  able  to  help 
them.  Almost  every  day  he  dined  with  some- 
body who  had  hardly  ever  had  a  respectable 
person  under  his  roof  before.  He  said  that 
God  was  not  in  the  least  like  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees ;  the  ministers  and  the  priests 
were  both  mistaken  about  God. 

Once  he  reminded  them  that  a  shepherd 
who  has  a  hundred  sheep  will  go  in  search  of 
even  one  which  is  lost,  and  will  seek  that 


THE  PRODIGAL  SON  249 

sheep  for  hours  and  hours  through  briers  and 
brambles,  and  when  he  finds  it  will  be  so  glad 
that  he  will  bring  in  all  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors. "  And  you  know, "  he  said,  "  what  a 
woman  does  who  has  ten  pieces  of  silver  and 
loses  one,  how  she  takes  a  candle  and  a  broom, 
and  searches  the  whole  house  till  she  finds  it, 
and  when  it  is  found  she  calls  her  friends  and 
her  neighbors  together  saying,  (  Rejoice  with 
me ;  for  I  have  found  the  piece  which  I  had  lost.' 
Likewise,  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the 
presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner 
that  repenteth."  Then  he  told  the  story  of  the 
Prodigal  Son. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who  had 
two  sons.  The  elder  was  quiet  and  steady,  but 
the  younger  son  was  a  restless  lad  who  was 
weary  of  staying  at  home,  and  wished  to  go  and 
see  the  world.  So  the  younger  went  one  day  to 
his  father  and  asked  for  the  money  which 
would  properly  come  to  him  when  he  was  of 
age.  "  Father,"  he  said,  "  give  me  the  portion 
of  goods  which  falleth  to  me."  And  the  father, 
who  was  a  man  of  wealth,  gave  to  both  his  sons. 


250  WHEN   THE  KING   CAME 

Then  the  younger  took  his  money,  and 
went  a  long  way  off  into  the  midst  of  the 
great  world,  and  there  had  a  fine  time.  He 
spent  his  money  for  this  thing  and  for  that, 
buying  what  was  sweet  to  eat  and  sour  to 
drink,  and  all  he  thought  about  was  how  to 
have  a  better  time  to-morrow.  Thus  the  days 
went  by.  Some  of  the  sweets  gave  him  a 
toothache,  and  some  of  the  sours  gave  him 
a  headache,  and  none  of  the  pleasures  lasted 
long ;  but  he  fancied  that  he  was  enjoying 
them  all.  At  last,  one  morning,  he  waked  to 
find  that  he  had  not  a  penny  in  his  pocket. 
All  that  his  father  had  given  him  was  gone. 
And  then  something  happened  ;  there  arose  a 
mighty  famine  in  that  land.  Now  a  famine, 
as  of  course  you  know,  is  a  time  when  every- 
body is  hungry  and  there  is  nothing  to  eat. 
There  had  been  no  rain.  The  grain  had 
stopped  growing,  and  the  grass  had  stopped 
growing,  and  everything  had  ceased  to  grow, 
except  people's  appetites  —  they  grew  bigger 
and  bigger. 

This  was  exceedingly  hard  for  the  lad  who 


THE  PRODIGAL   SON  251 

had  spent  all  his  money.  Moreover,  he  found 
that  in  losing  his  wealth  he  had  lost  his 
friends  also.  All  the  gay  young  men  and 
women  to  whom  he  had  given  so  many  gifts 
and  pleasures  now  turned  their  backs  upon 
him,  and  when  they  saw  him  in  the  street, 
went  around  the  corner  to  avoid  him.  For 
they  had  been  only  his  money's  friends.  In- 
deed, he  himself  had  not  been  a  true  friend 
to  them.  He  had  never  really  cared  about 
anybody  but  himself.  He  had  never  helped 
another;  so  now  there  was  none  who  would 
help  him. 

Only  one  course  was  open  to  him,  except 
to  starve,  and  that  was  to  go  to  work.  But 
even  work  was  hard  to  find.  He  did  not  know 
enough  to  do  such  work  as  calls  for  training. 
In  spite  of  his  fine  clothes  and  his  soft  hands, 
he  could  do  nothing  but  what  is  called  un- 
skilled labor.  That  is  the  hardest  kind  and 
the  worst  paid.  But  when  there  is  a  famine, 
business  fails,  and  there  are  few  chances  even 
to  get  such  jobs  as  that.  At  last,  the  only  oc- 
cupation he  could  find  was  that  of  a  swineherd. 


252  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

He  had  a  hard  time  getting  even  this  place, 
but  he  succeeded,  and  there  he  was  day  after 
day,  in  sun  and  rain,  tending  pigs  in  the  field. 
And  because  it  was  a  time  of  famine,  when 
food  was  failing  even  in  rich  houses,  he  had 
to  have  his  dinner  with  the  pigs.  Now  a  bill 
of  fare  for  a  pig's  dinner  is  not  a  pleasant  en- 
tertainment for  a  man,  even  when  the  trough 
is  well  supplied.  Think,  then,  what  it  must 
have  been  in  the  midst  of  a  famine.  The  swine 
had  husks,  and  the  prodigal  son  had  nothing 
better.  The  farmer  came  out  with  a  bucketful 
of  husks  and  dumped  them  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  the  boy  and  the  pigs  fought  to- 
gether for  the  best  pieces. 

Then  the  prodigal  thought  of  home.  He 
could  shut  his  eyes  and  see  how  it  all  looked : 
the  house  where  he  was  born,  with  trees  about 
it ;  the  rooms  within,  and  all  the  familiar  furni- 
ture ;  the  table  spread  for  dinner,  and  his  father 
and  mother  and  elder  brother  sitting  down. 
Was  there  a  place  on  one  side  left  for  him? 
Why,  even  his  father's  servants  had  enough  and 
to  spare,  and  he  was  perishing  with  hunger. 


THE  PRODIGAL  SON  253 

Finally,  he  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He 
said  to  himself,  "  I  will  go  home.  I  will  arise 
and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him. 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and 
before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  he 
called  thy  son  :  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired 
servants."  So  he  filled  his  pockets  with  husks, 
and  shut  the  gate  upon  the  swine,  and  turned 
his  face  towards  home. 

Now  that  day  his  father  was  looking  and 
looking  down  the  road.  I  suppose  that  that 
had  happened  many  times,  for  the  father  was 
very  sad  about  his  son.  It  had  been  many 
months  since  he  had  heard  from  him,  and  the 
last  news  had  not  been  pleasant  news.  So  he 
watched  the  road,  saying  to  himself,  "  Some 
day  he  will  come  back."  Away  down  the  street, 
walking  slowly,  like  one  who  is  weary  after  a 
long  journey,  or  like  one  who  is  very  doubtful 
if  he  will  be  welcome,  came  a  man  :  probably 
a  tramp,  for  his  clothes  were  ragged  and  dirty, 
and  yet  with  a  familiar  look.  And  the  father 
looked  again,  and  behold,  it  was  his  son. 

What  did  the  father  dc  ?  Did  he  say,  "  There 


254  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

is  my  bad  son,  who  has  disgraced  himself  and 
me.  He  has  spent  all  his  money  and  is  coming 
back  for  more.  He  thinks  that  I  will  forgive 
him,  but  he  will  find  that  he  is  very  much  mis- 
taken." Or  did  he  say,  "  Yes,  it  is  my  boy, 
now,  what  shall  I  do  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  Shall 
I  take  him  back  or  not  ?  "  No  :  he  rose  up  in- 
stantly, running  out  of  the  house  and  down 
the  road,  so  that  he  met  his  son  while  the  lad 
was  yet  a  great  way  from  the  house.  He  had 
compassion,  and  greeted  him,  and  put  his 
arms  around  him  and  kissed  him.  And  the 
son  began  to  say  the  words  which  he  had  been 
repeating  to  himself,  "  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no 
more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son."  But  the 
father  brought  him  in,  and  called  the  servants. 
"  Bring  forth  the  best  robe,"  he  said,  "  and  put 
it  on  him ;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand  and 
shoes  on  his  feet;  and  bring  hither  the  fatted 
calf,  and  kill  it,  and  let  us  eat,  and  be  merry." 
So  they  cooked  the  very  nicest  dinner  which 
they  knew  how  to  make,  and  the  neighbors 
were  sent  for;  and  after  dinner  men  were 


THE  PRODIGAL  SON  255 

brought  in  with  banjos  and  violins,  and  all 
began  to  dance. 

There  was  one  exception,  however,  to  this 
merriment.  That  was  the  elder  brother.  He 
was  working  in  the  field,  knowing  nothing  of 
this  great  event.  When  he  caine  home  to  sup- 
per he  was  much  surprised  to  hear  a  great 
noise  of  talking  and  laughing,  with  music  and 
dancing.  All  the  young  men  and  women  of 
the  neighborhood  seemed  to  be  there,  having  a 
beautiful  time.  The  elder  brother  thought  it 
strange  that  there  should  be  a  party  at  his 
house,  and  he  not  be  invited.  So  he  called  one 
of  the  servants  and  asked  what  these  things 
meant.  And  the  servant  said,  "  Thy  brother 
is  come  ;  and  thy  father  hath  killed  the  fatted 
calf,  because  he  hath  received  him  safe  and 
sound."  But  he  was  angry,  and  would  not  go 
in.  "  My  brother  has  been  a  fool,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "  and  bad  besides.  Now  he  comes 
home  and  my  father  takes  him  in  and  makes 
much  of  him.  My  brother  ought  to  have  a 
whipping  instead  of  a  supper." 

Then  the  father  left  the   guests  and  the 


256  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

dancing,  and  came  out  and  spoke  to  his  discon- 
tented son.  And  the  son  answering,  said  to  his 
father,  "  Lo,  these  many  years  have  I  stayed 
quietly  at  home,  and  minded  your  business  and 
my  own,  working  early  and  late  upon  the  farm, 
and  never  disobeying  you.  And  you  have  never 
given  any  party  for  me.  You  have  never  made 
a  supper  that  I  might  be  merry  with  my  friends. 
And  now  your  son  has  come,  who  has  wasted 
your  money  in  rioting  and  drunkenness,  and 
you  are  giving  him  the  best  you  have."  But  the 
father  said,  "  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me,  and 
all  that  I  have  is  thine.  It  was  meet  that  we 
should  make  merry  and  be  glad ;  for  this  thy 
brother  was  dead  and  is  alive  again  ;  and  was 
lost,  and  is  found."  Even  then,  I  fear  that  the 
elder  son  did  not  have  a  cheerful  face,  nor  did 
he  kiss  his  brother  when  he  met  him. 

Our  Lord  meant  that  the  Gentiles,  the  Sa- 
maritans, the  publicans,  and  the  sinners  were 
like  the  prodigal  son,  and  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  were  like  the  elder  brother;  but 
God  is  like  the  compassionate  and  loving  and 
forgiving  father. 


IX 
* 

THE  RICH  MAN  AND  THE  BEGGAR 

MOST  of  our  Lord's  disciples  were  poor  peo- 
ple. The  rich  were  not  much  interested  in 
the  things  which  chiefly  interested  him.  They 
were  giving  their  attention  to  their  business 
and  their  pleasure,  making  money  and  spend- 
ing it.  Moreover,  they  were  quite  satisfied  with 
the  world  as  it  was,  living  comfortably  in  their 
pleasant  houses,  and  dreading  any  change. 
There  was  still  another  reason  why  the  rich 
did  not  join  him.  Not  only  were  they  intent 
upon  this  present  life  and  satisfied  with  it,  but 
many  of  them  were  selfish.  Jesus  taught  that 
all  persons  should  share  their  possessions  with 
others.  He  said  that  if  a  man  had  two  coats, 
he  ought  to  give  one  to  his  neighbor  who  had 
none.  But  the  people  who  had  two  coats  did 
not  like  that,  and  those  who  had  twenty  coats 
were  very  angry  about  it. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  our  Lord  did  not 
make  it  easy  for  the  rich.    One  day  a  young 


258  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

mail  came,  desiring  to  be  one  of  his  disciples, 
and  the  young  man  had  great  possessions. 
Everybody  was  surprised  to  see  him,  for  it  was 
as  if  a  millionaire  should  propose  to  become  a 
member  of  the  Salvation  Army.  The  man  came 
running,  filled  with  enthusiasm,  and  kneeled 
before  our  Lord,  saying,  "  Good  Master,  what 
shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  "  The  lawyer 
had  asked  the  same  question,  but  the  young 
millionaire  asked  it  in  an  altogether  different 
spirit.  He  was  deeply  in  earnest.  Jesus  said, 
"  Thou  knowest  the  commandments,  Do  not 
commit  adultery,  Do  not  kill,  Do  not  steal,  Do 
not  bear  false  witness,  Honor  thy  father  and  thy 
mother."  "  Yes,"answered  the  rich  young  man, 
"  all  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up."  For 
he  was  as  good  as  he  was  rich.  Our  Lord  looked 
upon  him  in  his  youth  and  strength  and  ardor, 
and  loved  him.  "  All  this,"  said  the  man, 
"have  I  done:  what  lack  I  yet?"  And  the 
Lord  said,  "  Yet  lackest  thou  one  thing :  sell 
all  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  tho  poor,  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven :  and  come, 
follow  me."  You  see  how  hard  it  was.  Our 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  THE  BEGGAR    259 

Lord  did  not  say  that  to  other  rich  men ;  he 
said  it  to  this  rich  man  because  it  was  exactly 
what  he  needed.  The  man  had  never  done 
anything  bad,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had 
never  done  anything  good.  He  had  lived  a 
perfectly  proper,  but  a  very  selfish  life.  His 
only  way  was  to  break  with  it  all,  to  give  it  all 
up,  and  come  out  into  a  totally  different  man- 
ner of  living.  But  the  young  man  rose  slowly 
from  his  knees,  with  a  long  face,  and  turned 
about  and  went  away.  He  felt  that  that  was 
too  much. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  our  Lord  said, 
"  How  hard  it  is  for  them  that  trust  in  riches 
to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  !  It  is  easier 
for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle, 
than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God."  Not  because  it  is  wrong  to  be  rich, 
nor  because  God  likes  the  poor  better  than  the 
rich,  but  because  the  rich  are  so  tempted  to  be 
satisfied  and  selfish.  One  time  he  told  a  story 
about  a  rich  man,  and  what  happened  after  he 
was  dead. 

There  were  two  men  who  were  near  neigh- 


260 

bors,  but  in  a  strange  way.  One  lived  in  a 
fine  house,  the  other  lived  on  the  sidewalk  by 
the  gate.  One  was  a  rich  man,  the  other  was 
a  beggar.  The  rich  man  was  splendidly  dressed 
in  silks  and  velvets,  in  purple  and  fine  linen, 
and  fared  sumptuously  every  day.  He  had  ser- 
vants to  wait  upon  him,  and  every  day  at  break- 
fast and  luncheon  and  dinner  they  brought 
him  all  manner  of  pleasant  things  to  eat  and 
to  drink  in  vessels  of  gold  and  silver. 

But  the  beggar  had  what  was  worse  than 
nothing.  It  was  not  his  fault  that  he  was  poor. 
Some  people  are  poor  because  they  are  lazy, 
but  this  man  was  sick.  His  body  was  covered 
with  sores.  As  weeks  went  by  and  he  got  no 
better,  his  friends  felt  that  something  must  be 
done.  Either  they  were  so  poor  themselves 
that  they  could  not  take  care  of  him,  or  else 
they  were  tired  of  nursing  him.  So  one  night 
they  took  him  up,  and  carried  him  out,  and 
put  him  down  at  the  gate  of  the  richest  man 
in  town.  "  Now,"  they  said,  "  let  us  see ;  per- 
haps the  rich  man  will  be  good  to  him."  But 
there  he  lay,  and  the  rich  man  paid  no  atten- 


THE   RICH  MAN   AND  THE  BEGGAR    261 

tion  to  him.  He  was  so  weak  that  he  could 
not  even  keep  the  dogs  off.  The  street  dogs 
came,  growling  and  yelping,  and  thrust  their 
noses  into  his  face  and  licked  his  sores.  Some 
persons  who  passed  by  put  money  into  his 
hand.  But  that  did  little  good;  what  he  needed 
was  not  a  dime,  but  a  doctor ;  he  should  have 
been  taken  to  a  hospital.  Sometimes  fine  car- 
riages stopped  beside  him  at  the  gate,  and 
beautiful  ladies  got  out,  taking  care  that  their 
gay  gowns  should  not  brush  against  the  beg- 
gar, and  went  into  the  house,  and  he  could 
look  through  the  lighted  windows  and  see 
them  sitting  at  dinner,  while  musicians  played. 
And  he  wished  that  he  had  even  the  crumbs 
which  fell  upon  the  floor. 

There  is  one  visitor,  however,  who  comes 
sooner  or  later  to  everybody,  entering  all  gates, 
and  knocking  at  all  doors.  None  is  so  rich 
and  none  so  poor  but  this  visitor  takes  him  by 
the  hand.  The  visitor  is  death.  So  death 
came  in  due  time  to  the  rich  man  and  to  the 
beggar.  First  the  beggar  died,  and  the  angels 
came  and  carried  him  away  from  all  his  hun- 


262  WHEN   THE   KING   CAME 

ger  and  pain  into  the  blessed  paradise  above. 
And  in  paradise  was  a  great  feast,  and  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  the  faithful,  was  at  the 
head  of  the  table.  And  do  you  know  what 
they  did  with  the  beggar  ?  They  brought  him 
in  and  gave  him  the  place  of  honor.  There 
he  sat  at  Abraham's  right  hand.  Or  rather, 
there  he  lay,  for  that  was  then  the  fashion. 
They  had  couches  instead  of  chairs,  and  the 
guests  leaned  on  their  left  elbows.  There  was 
the  beggar,  then,  in  Abraham's  bosom ;  that 
is,  reclining  next  to  Abraham. 

Then  the  rich  man  died,  and  was  buried. 
They  had  a  stately  funeral  for  him,  with  a 
long  procession  of  mourners.  The  minister 
praised  him  in  a  sermon,  and  people  said 
how  much  he  would  be  missed,  and  what  good 
dinners  he  gave,  and  what  disposition  he  had 
made  of  his  money.  And  nobody  doubted  for 
a  moment  but  that  he  had  gone  to  heaven. 
Some  people  wondered  a  little  if  he  would  be 
satisfied  with  Abraham's  table,  having  always 
dined  so  well  himself,  but  they  were  all  sure 
that  he  was  in  the  same  good  society  in  heaven 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  THE  BEGGAR    263 

as  that  which  he  had  so  adorned  on  earth. 
This,  however,  was  a  sad  mistake.  When  the 
rich  man  opened  his  eyes  after  the  sleep  of 
death,  he  was  in  a  place  of  torment,  flames 
were  burning  all  about  him.  He  who  had  been 
rich  was  now  miserably  poor  ;  all  his  treasure 
had  been  put  in  a  bank  in  the  town  where  he 
had  lived,  none  of  it  had  been  laid  up  in 
heaven.  He  was  in  great  pain.  Among  his 
other  distresses,  he  was  dreadfully  thirsty,  and 
not  a  drop  of  water  was  in  reach.  But  across 
a  deep  ravine  was  a  place  of  pleasure,  cool  and 
shadowy,  with  the  wind  blowing  across  it,  and 
sweet  rivers  flowing  down  delectable  moun- 
tains between  flowery  fields.  And  there  was 
Abraham,  and  with  him  all  the  blessed  saints 
at  dinner.  And  next  to  Abraham,  between 
him  and  Isaac,  with  Jacob  and  Joseph  across 
the  table  —  yes,  there  was  the  beggar  who 
used  to  lie  beside  the  rich  man's  gate. 

The  rich  man  had  never  driven  the  beggar 
from  his  gate.  He  had  even  given  him  a  small 
coin  now  and  then,  and  had  let  the  servants 
feed  him.  Once  in  a  while  he  had  spoken  to 


264  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

him.  He  knew  that  his  name  was  Lazarus. 
And  now  the  rich  man  cried  and  said,  "  Father 
Abraham,  have  mercy  on  me,  and  send  Laza- 
rus, that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in 
water  and  cool  my  tongue,  for  I  am  tormented 
in  this  flame."  That  was  not  much  to  ask : 
though  the  rich  man  did  not  quite  realize  how 
all  had  changed,  he  being  now  a  beggar, 
while  Lazarus  was  an  honored  guest  at  Abra- 
ham's table.  But  Abraham  said,  "  Son,  re- 
member that  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst 
thy  good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil 
things ;  but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou 
art  tormented.  And  beside  all  this,  between 
us  and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  :  so  that 
they  which  would  pass  from  hence  to  you  can- 
not; neither  can  they  pass  to  us,  that  would 
come  from  thence." 

The  judgment  of  God  may  be  very  differ- 
ent from  the  judgment  of  men :  that  is  what 
our  Lord  meant.  Some  who  seem  to  be  rich 
are,  in  God's  sight,  poor  and  miserable,  all  their 
wealth  being  perishable,  so  that  they  cannot 
take  it  with  them  when  they  die ;  while  some 


THE  RICH  MAN  AND  THE  BEGGAR    265 

poor  persons,  like  our  Lord's  poor  disciples, 
may  be  rich  in  the  best  treasures,  and  be 
counted  among  the  chief  citizens  of  heaven. 

O 

Good  society,  according  to  our  Lord,  is  not 
determined  by  clothes,  or  bank-books,  or  birth, 
or  manners,  but  by  simple  goodness. 

Then  the  rich  man  remembered  his  five 
brothers.  He  had  never  done  much  for  any 
one  who  was  poorer  than  himself,  but  he  was 
a  good  friend  to  his  own  companions,  and 
especially  to  his  own  family.  "  I  pray  thee, 
father,"  he  cried,  "that  thou  wouldest  send 
Lazarus  to  my  father's  house  ;  for  I  have  five 
brethren  ;  that  he  may  testify  to  them,  lest 
they  also  come  to  this  place  of  torment."  He 
imagined  his  brothers,  sitting  at  dinner  in  their 
beautiful  dining-room,  thinking  of  nothing 
but  the  pleasures  of  this  life,  and  so  making 
ready  to  enter  into  pain  in  the  next  life ;  and 
in  comes  Lazarus,  straight  out  of  the  grave, 
with  a  message  from  heaven ;  and  the  five 
brothers  rise  up  in  great  terror,  and  listen  to 
his  words,  and  thereafter  live  quite  differently, 
sharing  their  wealth  with  the  poor.  But  Abra- 


266  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

ham  answered,  "  They  have  Moses  and  the 
prophets ;  let  them  hear  them."  As  if  he  had 
said,  "  There  is  a  church  around  the  corner 
from  their  house,  and  ministers  are  holding  ser- 
vices and  reading  the  Bible  and  preaching  there 
every  sabbath  day.  The  ministers  are  bring- 
ing messages  from  heaven,  and  warning  peo- 
ple not  to  have  all  their  treasure  here  below." 
"  Nay,  father  Abraham,"  replied  the  rich  man, 
"  but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead, 
they  will  repent."  But  Abraham  answered, 
"  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  if 
they  mind  not  what  is  said  in  church  and 
written  in  the  Bible,  nothing  will  help  them. 
They  will  not  be  persuaded,  though  one  rose 
from  the  dead." 


X 

AT  THE  GEAVE  OF  LAZARUS 

THERE  was  another  Lazarus  beside  the  one 
who  lay  a  beggar  at  the  rich  man's  gate,  and 
then  sat  next  to  Abraham  at  the  table  in  para- 
dise. This  other  Lazarus,  as  you  will  remem- 
ber, was  a  dear  friend  of  our  Lord.  He  lived 
a  little  out  of  Jerusalem,  at  Bethany,  and  was 
a  man  of  wealth.  His  two  sisters,  Mary  and 
Martha,  lived  with  him.  They  were  so  rich 
that  one  time  when  Mary  wished  to  do  our 
Lord  a  special  honor,  and  to  show  him  her 
reverence  and  love,  she  took  an  alabaster 
box  of  very  precious  ointment  and  broke  the 
box  and  poured  the  ointment  on  his  head  as 
he  sat  at  dinner :  and  the  apostles  who  were 
at  the  table  whispered  among  themselves  that 
the  box  and  the  ointment  together  must  have 
cost  at  least  three  hundred  dollars. 

Our  Lord  loved  Mary  and  Martha  and  Laza- 
rus, and  probably  stayed  with  them  whenever  he 
visited  Jerusalem.  At  first  they  treated  him 


268  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

with  much  ceremony,  and  made  him  a  great 
supper.  But  he  did  not  like  that.  One  time 
Martha  was  very  busy  preparing  for  this  feast, 
bustling  about  and  seeing  to  this  and  to  that, 
while  Mary  sat  quietly  at  our  Lord's  feet  lis- 
tening as  he  talked.  By  and  by,  Martha  came 
in  and  complained  that  Mary  left  her  to  do  all 
the  work  :  to  which  our  Lord  replied,  "  Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about 
many  things ;  but  one  thing  is  needful :  and 
Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part  which  shall 
not  be  taken  away  from  her."  That  is,  he  cared 
much  more  for  talking  than  he  did  for  eating. 
It  is  likely  that  after  that  they  received  him  very 
simply  as  one  of  the  family.  So  he  came  in  and 
went  out,  as  if  their  house  were  his  own  home. 
But  now,  while  our  Lord  was  in  Perea,  telling 
about  the  good  Samaritan,  and  the  Prodigal 
Son,  and  the  Rich  Man  and  the  Beggar,  Lazarus 
fell  sick.  His  sisters  at  once  sent  word  of  this 
illness  to  our  Lord.  The  messenger  came  and 
brought  the  bad  news,  saying,  as  he  had  been 
taught,  "  Lord,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick." 
But  Jesus  did  not  go.  He  abode  two  days  still 


AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS    269 

in  the  same  place  where  he  was.  The  sisters 
waited  and  the  disciples  wondered.  They  all 
knew  that  he  loved  Lazarus.  They  knew  also 
that  Lazarus  was  every  day  getting  worse  and 
worse.  But  still  he  stayed.  The  message  of 
the  anxious  sisters  was  like  the  prayers  which 
many  people  pray  to  God  in  great  distress,  and 
God  seems  not  to  answer. 

After  two  days,  however,  he  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples, "  Let  us  go  into  Judea  again."  They 
answered,  "  Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to 
stone  thee;  and  goest  thou  thither  again?"  For, 
the  last  time  he  was  in  Jerusalem,  at  the  Feast 
of  the  Dedication,  in  the  winter,  he  had  barely 
escaped  alive.  They  had  wondered  that  he  did 
not  go  when  the  word  came  from  Bethany,  for 
it  did  not  seem  like  him  to  be  afraid  :  but  now 
that  he  determined  to  go,  their  hearts  sank 
within  them.  "  I  have  my  work  to  do,"  he  said. 
"  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth ;  but  I  go,  that 
I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep."  "  Lord,"  they 
answered,  not  quite  knowing  what  he  meant, 
"  if  he  sleeps,  he  shall  do  well."  But  Jesus  was 
speaking  of  the  sleep  from  which  the  sleeper 


270  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

does  not  wake  again  in  this  world,  and  he  said 
plainly,  "  Lazarus  is  dead.  And  I  am  glad  for 
your  sakes  that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  intent 
ye  may  believe ;  nevertheless,  let  us  go  unto 
him."  Then  were  the  disciples  in  deep  despair, 
and  Thomas  said  to  the  others,  "  Let  us  also 
go,  that  we  may  die  with  him." 

Meanwhile  it  had  come  to  pass  even  as 
Jesus  had  said.  Lazarus  had  died,  and,  accord- 
ing to  their  custom,  on  the  same  day  they  had 
buried  him.  When  Jesus  came,  he  found  that 
he  had  lain  in  the  grave  four  days  already. 
Somebody  told  him  that  as  he  came  near  the 
town ;  and  at  the  same  time  somebody  hurried 
to  the  house  and  found  Martha,  and  told  her 
that  their  friend  was  coming.  The  house  was 
full  of  people,  and  was  in  great  disorder,  all 
the  chairs  and  tables  being  upset,  as  was  their 
way  at  a  time  of  mourning.  The  messenger 
found  Martha  busy  here  and  there,  but  Mary 
was  in  her  own  room  with  the  door  fast  shut. 
So  Martha  went  and  met  our  Lord ;  but  Mary 
sat  still  in  the  house.  And  Martha  said, 
"  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother 


AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZAKUS    271 

had  not  died.  But  I  know,  that  even  now, 
whatsoever  thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will 
give  it  thee."  Jesus  answered,  "  Thy  bro- 
ther shall  rise  again."  Martha  said,  "  I  know 
that  he  shall  rise  again  —  in  the  resurrection 
at  the  last  day."  Jesus  said  unto  her,  "  I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth 
in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ; 
and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall 
never  die.  Believest  thou  this  ?  "  She  did  not 
in  the  least  understand  it.  She  listened  as 
people  listen  to-day,  with  tears  in  their  eyes, 
when  the  words  are  read  at  the  beginning  of 
the  burial  service.  But  she  said,  "  Yes,  Lord ;  I 
believe  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
which  should  come  into  the  world."  For  these 
dear  friends  at  Bethany  knew  in  a  dim  way, 
like  the  Twelve,  that  Jesus  was  the  King  of 
Glory.  Our  Lord  said,  "  Where  is  Mary  ?  " 

Then  Martha,  leaving  Jesus  where  he  was, 
outside  the  town,  went  back  and  found  her 
sister,  and  whispered  to  her,  saying,  "  The 
Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for  thee."  As 
soon  as  Mary  heard  that,  she  arose  quickly 


272  WHEN   THE   KING  CAME 

and  came  unto  him.  And  the  mourners,  see- 
ing her  go  out,  said,  "  She  goeth  to  the  grave 
to  weep  there  ; "  and  they  followed  her.  Then, 
when  Mary  was  come  where  Jesus  was,  and 
saw  him,  she  fell  down  at  his  feet,  saying 
unto  him,  "  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my 
brother  had  not  died."  Mary  and  Martha  had 
said  that  over  and  over  to  each  other  during 
the  past  four  days.  So  Mary  lay  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus  weeping,  and  the  friends  who  came 
with  her  were  weeping  also.  And  our  Lord 
was  very  sorry,  knowing  indeed  that  he  would 
presently  change  tears  into  smiles,  but  enter- 
ing into  their  deep  grief.  This  he  did  that  he 
might  be  able  to  help  them.  They  on  their 
part  must  have  faith,  he  on  his  part  must  have 
sympathy.  He  groaned  and  was  troubled. 
He  said,  "Where  have  ye  laid  him?"  They 
answered,  "  Lord,  come  and  see."  And  as  they 
went,  weeping,  and  Jesus  weeping  with  them, 
some  said,  "  Behold  how  he  loved  him ;  "  and 
others  said,  "  Could  not  this  man,  which 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  have  caused  that 
even  this  man  should  not  have  died  ?  " 


AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS    273 

Jesus,  therefore,  again  groaning  in  himself, 
came  to  the  grave.  It  was  a  cave,  and  a  stone 
lay  against  the  mouth  of  it.  "  Take  away  the 
stone,"  he  said.  But  Martha,  who,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  a  plain-spoken,  practical  person,  said, 
"  Lord,  shall  we  do  that  ?  Remember,  he  has 
been  dead  four  days."  To  whom  our  Lord  re- 
plied, "Said  I  not  unto  thee  that  if  thou 
wouldest  believe,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory 
of  God  ?  "  Then  they  took  away  the  stone 
from  the  place  where  the  dead  was  laid. 

And  Jesus  stood  and  prayed.  "  Father,"  he 
said,  lifting  up  his  eyes,  "  I  thank  thee  that 
thou  hast  heard  me.  And  I  know  that  thou 
nearest  me  always ;  but  because  of  the  peo- 
ple which  stand  by  I  said  it,  that  they  may 
believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  And  when 
he  had  thus  spoken,  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  Lazarus,  come  forth."  And  he  came 
forth.  He  that  was  dead  rose  up  and  came 
forth,  bound  hand  and  foot  with  grave-clothes ; 
and  his  face  was  bound  about  with  a  napkin. 
There  they  stood,  —  the  sisters,  the  apostles, 
and  the  people  of  Bethany,  —  and  saw  that 


274  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

sight.    And  Jesus  said,  "  Loose  him,  and  let 
him  go." 

Then  a  thing  happened  which  was  almost 
as  strange  as  that.  Some  of  the  company,  in- 
stead of  being  filled  with  joy  and  wonder,  were 
filled  with  fear  and  anger.  They  beheld  their 
neighbor  come  to  life  again,  but  what  they 
thought  of  most  was  that  now  the  Prophet  of 
Nazareth  would  gain  more  disciples.  He  whom 
the  chief  people  so  hated  would  be  more  power- 
ful than  ever.  And  these  men  went  straight 
from  the  empty  grave  to  the  Pharisees  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  told  them  what  our  Lord  had  done, 
and  the  Pharisees  told  it  to  the  Sadducees,  and 
the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees  together  held 
a  council  saying,  "  What  shall  we  do?  for  this 
man  doeth  many  miracles.  If  we  let  him  thus 
alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  him ;  and  the 
Romans  shall  come  and  take  away  our  place 
and  nation."  And  the  high  priest,  Caiaphas, 
spoke  and  said,  "It  is  better  that  one  man 
should  die  than  that  the  whole  nation  perish." 
Then  from  that  day  forth  they  took  counsel 
together  to  put  him  to  death.  Thus  was  ful- 


AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS    275 

filled  the  saying  of  our  Lord  that  they  who  do 
not  hear  the  voice  of  God  in  the  Bible  and  in 
daily  life  will  not  be  persuaded,  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead. 

Jesus  had  brought  a  dead  man  back  to  life, 
and  many  believed  on  him,  but  therefore  the 
priests  and  the  ministers  would  kill  him.  The 
priests  and  the  ministers  and  the  people  of  the 
church  were  thinking  of  themselves  :  even  the 
prayers  which  they  prayed  were  selfish  prayers. 
"  The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,"  they  said,  "  if  he 
comes  into  power,  will  turn  us  out.  His  ways  are 
not  as  our  ways,  neither  his  thoughts  as  our 
thoughts.  We  must  put  an  end  to  his  influence 
by  putting  an  end  to  his  life."  They  had  said 
such  things  before  in  private.  Now  they  said 
them  aloud  in  public. 

Meanwhile,  Lazarus  was  alive  and  well.  He 
never  told  what  he  heard  and  saw  while  he  lay 
four  days  dead  ;  or,  if  he  did,  we  do  not  know 
what  it  was.  Robert  Browning  wrote  a  poem 
in  which  he  imagined  an  Arab  physician  visit- 
ing Lazarus.  It  was  a  good  while  after  the  day 
of  the  opened  tomb,  and  the  physician  asked 


276  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

him  about  it,  and  heard  him  tell  the  story.  He 
said  that  Lazarus  was  the  most  singular  man 
he  had  ever  met.  The  things  which  interested 
or  troubled  most  men,  such  as  the  march  of  an 
invading  army,  did  not  affect  him  :  while  some 
slight  wrong  word  or  act  of  a  child  at  play 
would  put  hun  in  great  fear,  more  than  if  the 
child  showed  symptoms  of  a  fever.  And  if 
somebody  said,  "  Why,  that  is  such  a  little 
thing,"  he  would  look  at  him  in  surprise,  as  if 
one  were  to  hold  a  lighted  match  over  a  bar- 
rel of  gunpowder,  and  say,  "Why,  it  is  such 
a  little  blaze." 

Perhaps  we  would  judge  of  things  in  the 
same  way  if  we  had  spent  four  days  in  the 
other  world. 


XI 


THE  raising"  of  Lazarus  made  so  much  excite- 
ment that  our  Lord  felt  obliged  to  go  away.  He 
knew  of  the  determination  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  to  kill  him :  but  his  hour  was  not  yet 
come.  He  retired,  therefore,  to  a  place  called 
Ephraim,  among  the  northern  hills  of  Judea, 
on  the  borders  of  a  rocky  wilderness.  There  he 
stayed  with  his  apostles,  preparing  himself  and 
them  for  the  final  and  fatal  visit  to  Jerusalem. 
Winter  was  now  over,  and  spring  had  come. 
All  the  trees  were  green  with  tender  leaves, 
and  flowers  were  growing  by  the  side  of  all  the 
little  brooks.  It  was  the  season  of  the  Feast  of 
the  Passover,  and  for  this  feast  our  Lord  was 
waiting.  He  knew  that  Jerusalem  would  be  full 
of  people.  They  would  come  from  all  the  land, 
from  Judea,  and  from  Galilee,  and  from  Perea, 
from  the  towns  in  which  he  had  spoken  his 
blessed  words  of  wisdom  and  had  done  his 
gracious  works  of  wonder.  At  that  day,  in  that 


278  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

city,  the  whole  nation  would  be  represented. 
Then  and  there,  accordingly,  the  King  would 
come.  The  King  of  Glory  had  now  made  it 
plain  what  kind  of  a  kingdom  he  proposed  to 
establish,  and  he  would  present  himself  to  his 
people  that  he  might  be  accepted  or  rejected. 
He  foresaw  how  it  would  be.  He  told  a  story 
once  about  a  man  who  planted  a  vineyard,  and 
let  it  forth  to  husbandmen,  and  went  into  a  far 
country  for  a  long  time  :  and  at  the  season,  he 
sent  a  servant  to  the  husbandmen  that  they 
should  give  him  of  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard ; 
but  the  husbandmen  beat  him  and  sent  him 
away  empty.  And  again  he  sent  another  ser- 
vant ;  and  they  beat  him  also,  and  treated  him 
shamefully  and  sent  him  away  empty.  Again 
he  sent  a  third,  and  they  wounded  him  also, 
and  cast  him  out.  Then  said  the  lord  of  the 
vineyard,  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  I  will  send  my 
beloved  son  ;  it  may  be  they  will  reverence  him 
when  they  see  him."  But  when  the  husband- 
men saw  him,  they  reasoned  among  themselves, 
saying,  "  This  is  the  heir  :  come,  let  us  kill  him, 
that  the  inheritance  may  be  ours."  So  they  cast 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  JERUSALEM       279 

him  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  killed  him.  You 
see  what  he  meant.  The  planter  was  God,  the 
husbandmen  were  the  Jews,  the  servants  were 
the  prophets  who  had  come  with  messages  from 
God  and  had  been  stoned,  the  son  was  the  Son 
of  God.  Jesus  knew  that  they  would  do  to  him 
what  the  wicked  husbandmen  did  to  the  lord's 
son  in  the  story. 

But  the  day  came,  and  he  started  on  his 
last  journey.  He  steadfastly  set  his  face  to  go 
to  Jerusalem.  He  walked  before  along  the 
road,  and  the  apostles  walked  behind ;  and 
they  were  amazed  to  see  him.  On  he  went  as 
a  hero  advances  into  battle.  They  had  never 
seen  him  look  like  that  before.  "  It  cannot 
be,"  they  said  one  to  another,  "  that  he  is  go- 
ing to  defeat.  He  would  not  walk  with  such  a 
step  as  that  towards  death."  And  they  began 
to  lift  up  their  hearts,  thinking  that  in  Jeru- 
salem they  might  find  a  crown  and  not  a 
cross.  But  he  turned  about  and  spoke  to  them 
in  the  old  way,  saying  the  old  words,  repeat- 
ing what  he  said  that  day  when  they  had  all 
recognized  him  as  the  King  of  Glory.  "  Be- 


280  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

hold,"  he  said,  "  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
all  things  that  are  written  by  the  prophets 
concerning  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  accom- 
plished. For  he  shall  be  delivered  unto  the 
Gentiles,  and  shall  be  mocked,  and  spitefully 
entreated,  and  spitted  on ;  and  they  shall 
scourge  him,  and  put  him  to  death ;  and  the 
third  day  he  shall  rise  again."  But  even  now 
they  did  not  understand. 

Indeed,  so  far  were  they  from  understand- 
ing, that  two  of  the  aposties,  James  and  John, 
made  now  a  strange  request.  Their  mother 
was  in  the  company,  with  Mary  Magdalen,  out 
of  whom  our  Lord  had  cast  seven  devils,  and 
other  good  women,  who  ministered  to  our 
Lord  and  to  the  Twelve ;  and  the  two  brothers, 
being  perhaps  ashamed  to  go  themselves,  per- 
suaded the  mother  to  ask  the  King  for  the  best 
places  in  his  kingdom,  one  for  James  and  one 
for  John.  "  Grant,"  she  said,  "  that  these  my 
two  sons  may  sit,  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and 
the  other  on  the  left,  in  thy  kingdom."  They 
still  thought  that  the  King  of  Glory  would  be 
the  ruler  of  Jerusalem,  that  he  would  have  a 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  JERUSALEM       281 

court  and  a  palace,  and  would  sit  upon  a 
throne  of  gold.  The  two  fishermen  wished  to 
sit  on  gold  thrones  also.  The  ten  were  much 
displeased  when  they  heard  of  this  request  of 
the  two,  for  they,  on  their  side,  had  a  mind  to 
occupy  high  seats  in  the  new  kingdom.  But 
our  Lord  called  them  all  together,  and  taught 
them  the  true  meaning  of  greatness.  "  Who- 
soever will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be 
your  servant.  For  even  the  Son  of  man  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many." 
Greatness,  he  said,  does  not  consist  in  having 
many  servants,  but  in  being,  one's  own  self, 
the  servant  of  many  people. 

One  day,  on  this  journey  to  Jerusalem, 
mothers  came  bringing  young  children  to  him 
that  he  should  touch  them,  and  his  apostles 
rebuked  those  who  brought  them.  The  apos- 
tles were  altogether  too  active  in  keeping  peo- 
ple away  from  our  Lord ;  as,  indeed,  many  of 
their  successors  have  been.  But  when  Jesus 
saw  it,  he  was  much  displeased.  He  said, 
"  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me, 


282  WHEN   THE  KING   CAME 

and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  Whosoever  shall  not  receive 
the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall 
not  enter  therein."  The  little  children,  simple 
and  natural  and  affectionate  and  truthful,  had 
the  spirit  which  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees 
so  sadly  lacked.  And  he  took  the  little  ones 
in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and 
blessed  them. 

Another  day,  as  he  entered  into  a  certain 
village,  there  met  him  ten  men  who  had  a 
grievous  sickness.  They  were  lepers.  They 
had  a  disease  which  begins  with  a  little  sore 
spot  on  the  skin,  and  keeps  on  spreading  till 
the  leper  is  worse  than  dead.  People  said  that 
it  was  like  ski,  which  begins  with  some  small, 
wrong  act,  or  even  thought,  and  unless  it  is 
stopped,  grows  on  and  on  into  dreadf ul  disaster 
to  both  soul  and  body.  And  because  it  was  a 
symbol  of  sin,  and  also  because  it  was  catching, 
the  leper  had  to  live  apart  from  other  people. 
When  he  went  along  the  road,  he  must  cry 
"  Unclean !  unclean  ! "  so  that  whoever  was  com- 
ing might  take  warning  and  get  out  of  the  way. 


ON  THE   WAY  TO  JERUSALEM       283 

Ten  of  these  poor  men,  brothers  in  misery, 
met  our  Lord  as  he  came  to  the  first  house  of 
this  little  village.  They  stood  afar  off,  not  ven- 
turing near,  and  lifted  up  their  weak  voices  and 
cried  altogether,  "  Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy 
on  us."  For  they  had  heard  that  he  was  kind, 
even  to  lepers.  And  when  he  saw  them,  he  said, 
"  Go  show  yourselves  unto  the  priests."  For 
the  priests  were  the  Board  of  Health.  The  rule 
was  that  if  any  leper  felt  that  he  was  cured,  he 
must  go  to  the  priests  in  the  temple  and  let 
them  examine  him  that  they  might  make  sure 
of  his  condition,  whether  he  was  really  well  or 
not.  So  our  Lord  said,  "  Go  show  yourselves 
unto  the  priests." 

But  the  men  were  still  lepers.  They  were 
not  in  the  least  cured.  Why,  then,  should  they 
go  to  the  priests  ?  If  they  had  been  like  some 
people,  they  would  not  have  gone  a  step.  Some- 
times even  small  children,  when  they  are  told 
by  their  parents  to  do  this  or  that,  say,  "Why? 
What  for  ?  "  But  the  lepers  asked  no  ques- 
tions. Straight  they  started,  fast  as  they  could 
go  on  their  feeble  legs,  to  find  the  priests  in 


284  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

their  office  in  the  temple.  And  as  they  went, 
they  were  cleansed.  Step  by  step,  as  they  made 
their  way  along  the  Jerusalem  road,  their  pains 
were  eased,  their  sores  were  healed,  and  their 
skin  began  to  grow  like  the  skin  of  a  little 
child,  and  they  were  well.  By  doing  what  the 
Lord  had  said,  setting  their  faces  in  the  right 
direction  and  keeping  on,  they  were  cleansed. 
So  that  here  also  their  leprosy  was  like  sin, 
which  is  overcome  more  and  more  by  every 
good  deed  that  the  sinner  does. 

They  were  cleansed  then ;  should  they  go 
on  or  turn  back  ?  Nine  of  them  went  on.  That 
was  what  they  were  told  to  do,  and  they  did  it. 
They  went  to  the  priests  and  showed  them- 
selves, and  the  priests  pronounced  them  cured, 
and  they  returned  to  their  homes.  No  doubt 
their  hearts  were  full  of  gratitude  as  they  were 
full  of  joy.  But  they  said  nothing.  Of  the 
ten,  only  one  turned  back.  One  of  them,  when 
he  saw  that  he  was  healed,  turned  back,  and 
with  a  loud  voice  glorified  God,  and  fell  down  on 
his  face  at  our  Lord's  feet,  giving  him  thanks. 
And  he  was  a  Samaritan  ;  he  was  one  of  those 


ON  THE   WAY  TO  JERUSALEM       285 

whom  the  priests  and  the  ministers  despised. 
And  Jesus  said,  "  Were  there  not  ten  cleansed  ? 
but  where  are  the  nine  ?  They  are  not  found 
that  returned  to  give  glory  to  God,  save  this 
stranger."  And  he  said  unto  him,  "  Arise,  go 
thy  way :  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole." 


XII 
IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO 

THE  way  to  Jerusalem  lay  through  Jericho. 
The  city  stood  in  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  be- 
tween the  river  and  the  hills,  in  the  midst  of 
palm-trees,  and  was  great  and  beautiful.  It 
was  a  place  of  business,  being  a  station  on  an 
important  road,  and  had  a  custom-house  where 
publicans  took  the  toll  and  made  merchants 
pay  a  fee  for  carrying  their  goods  across  the 
border.  And  chief  among  the  publicans  was 
a  man  named  ZacchaBiis,  whose  office  had  made 
him  rich;  but  the  riches  of  Zacchaeus  had 
not  made  him  respected.  The  publicans  were 
everywhere  hated  by  the  Jews,  because  they 
were  in  the  service  of  the  Romans.  The  taxes 
which  were  paid  at  the  custom-house  were  not 
spent,  like  our  taxes,  for  roads  and  school- 
houses,  but  were  sent  to  Rome  to  increase  the 
wealth  of  Roman  nobles.  Accordingly,  Zac- 
chaeus, while  he  was  one  of  the  richest  citizens 
of  Jericho,  was  one  of  the  most  unpopular. 


IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO       287 

None  of  the  nice  people,  as  we  say,  would  as- 
sociate with  him. 

When  the  news  came  to  Jericho  that  the 
Prophet  of  Nazareth  would  pass  that  way  on 
his  journey  to  Jerusalem,  even  Zacchseus  heard 
it.  All  the  people  were  interested  in  his  com- 
ing, but  nobody  was  more  interested  than  the 
publican.  He  had  heard  that  there  was  a  pub- 
lican among  our  Lord's  twelve  friends.  There 
was  a  great  crowd,  however,  in  the  streets  of 
Jericho.  The  season  of  the  Passover  was  every 
day  bringing  companies  of  pilgrims  through 
the  city  on  their  way  up  the  Red  Road  to  the 
feast.  When  our  Lord  came,  many  came  with 
him,  especially  from  Galilee.  For,  in  spite  of 
the  Pharisees,  there  were  still  good  men  in 
Galilee,  who  believed  in  him  with  all  their 
hearts.  Indeed,  there  were  so  many  following 
him  to  Jerusalem  that  it  seemed  a  little  like  an 
invasion.  People  whispered  one  to  another  — 
First  Citizen  and  Second  Citizen  putting  their 
heads  together  —  that  he  was  on  his  way  at 
the  head  of  his  disciples  to  make  himself  a 
king,  to  meet  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  who 


288  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

had  threatened  his  life,  and  to  drive  them  from 
their  seats  of  power.  All  the  more  on  that  ac- 
count were  the  men  of  Jericho  desirous  to  see 
him.  So  the  street  which  ran  through  the 
heart  of  the  busy  town  was  filled  with  a  great 
multitude ;  all  the  windows  were  open,  and 
heads  were  thrust  out,  watching  for  him. 

But  Zacchseus  was  little  of  stature.  Go 
where  he  would  along  the  main  street,  there 
was  always  some  large,  tall  person  between 
him  and  the  middle  of  the  road.  He  could  not 
see.  Any  boy  knows  what  he  himself  would 
have  done  in  such  a  case;  and  Zacchseus, 
man  as  he  was,  did  just  that  thing.  He  ran 
along  before  the  procession  and  climbed  up 
into  a  tree.  Then  they  came,  the  Lord,  and  the 
Twelve,  and  the  pilgrims  from  Galilee.  It  was 
not  much  of  a  procession,  for  a  boy.  There 
was  not  a  uniform,  or  a  flag,  or  an  instrument 
of  music  from  its  beginning  to  its  end.  All 
that  the  boys  saw  was  a  line  of  dusty  men,  in 
the  dress  of  farmers  and  fisher-folk,  looking 
very  tired  after  a  long  journey.  But  the  pub- 
lican saw  more  than  that.  In  the  midst  walked 


IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO       289 

the  Master,  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  the  friend 
of  publicans.  Zacchseus  looked  at  him  with 
all  his  eyes,  and  with  his  heart  also. 

The  Lord,  too,  was  looking  about  him  as  he 
walked.  He  did  not  care  for  crowds,  nor  for 
applause ;  he  was  never  thinking  of  himself ; 
he  was  always  watching  for  an  opportunity  to 
do  good  to  somebody.  And  as  he  went,  he 
heard  men  hooting  and  calling  names,  and 
pointing  their  fingers  at  somebody  who  was 
standing  in  a  tree.  The  crowd  had  discovered 
the  publican,  and  were  making  use  of  the  oc- 
casion to  tell  him  what  they  thought  of  him. 
"  Who  is  that  ?  "  asked  the  Master.  "  Who  is 
that  whom  the  people  hate  ?  "  And  one  said, 
"  That  is  Zacchaeus,  the  publican,  the  most 
unpopular  man  in  town."  So  the  Master  came 
to  the  tree,  and  when  he  saw  the  publican,  he 
spoke  to  him.  "  Zacchaeus,"  he  said,  "  make 
haste  and  come  down  ;  for  to-day  I  must  abide 
at  thy  house."  And  he  made  haste,  and  came 
down,  and  received  him  joyfully.  And  the 
crowd  stood  in  amazement.  Then  they  went 
together  around  the  corner  of  the  street,  the 


290  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Prophet  whom  they  had  all  come  out  to  see, 
and  Zacchaeus.  And  they  all  murmured. 
They  said  hard  words  beneath  their  breath. 
They  went  home  and  told  their  wives,  growing 
more  angry  the  more  they  thought  about  it. 
"  He  was  gone,"  they  said,  raising  their  hands 
in  horror,  "  to  be  guest  with  a  man  that  is  a 
sinner." 

Indeed,  it  was  a  strange  matter  :  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  comes  to  town,  and,  leav- 
ing the  procession  of  the  mayor  and  the  clergy 
and  the  chief  citizens,  takes  the  hand  of  a  no- 
torious gambler  and  goes  with  him  to  dinner. 
What  blank  and  black  looks !  For  nobody 
could  dislike  a  gambler  more  than  the  people 
of  Jericho  disliked  a  publican. 

So  they  went  into  the  house,  and  Zacchaeus 
stood  and  said  unto  the  Lord,  "  Behold,  Lord, 
the  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor ;  and 
if  I  have  taken  anything  from  any  man  by 
false  accusation,  I  restore  him  fourfold."  Up 
to  that  moment  Zacchaeus  had  never  given 
a  penny  to  the  poor ;  never  had  he  restored  a 
dollar  to  any  man  from  whom  he  had  extorted 


IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO       291 

more  than  his  due.  The  hatred  of  the  church 
people  had  but  hardened  the  publican's  heart. 
But  the  courtesy  of  our  Lord  melted  it  in  a 
moment.  And  Jesus  said,  "  This  day  is  salva- 
tion come  to  this  house,  forasmuch  as  he  also 
is  a  son  of  Abraham."  The  sons  of  the  father 
of  the  faithful,  and  members  of  the  household 
of  God,  are  to  be  found  in  unexpected  places. 
"  For  the  Son  of  man,"  he  added,  "  is  come 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  The 
Lord,  when  he  looked  up  into  the  tree,  saw 
a  man  who  was  lost,  and  he  left  everything 
and  went  and  found  him. 

The  next  day,  as  he  went  out  of  Jericho  with 
his  disciples  and  a  great  number  of  people,  a 
blind  man,  named  Bartimseus,  sat  by  the  way- 
side begging.  The  crowd  came,  and  the  blind 
beggar  heard  the  noise  of  their  feet  and  the 
sound  of  their  voices,  and  as  they  came  he 
plucked  the  cloak  of  the  nearest  man  and  said, 
"  What  is  it  all  about  ?  "  And  the  man  said, 
"  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by."  The  beggar 
knew  who  that  was.  He  had  listened  to  the  talk 
of  the  town.  The  talk  of  the  town  was  full  of 


292  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

criticism  of  Jesus,  but  that  did  not  affect  the 
beggar.  He  was  so  poor  that  he  could  have 
his  own  opinions;  he  had  nothing  to  lose. 
People  speak  of  being  independently  rich,  but 
Bartimaeus  was  independently  poor.  When, 
they  told  him  that  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth 
had  gone  to  dinner  with  a  sinner,  the  beggar 
was  much  pleased.  He  was  well  acquainted 
with  sinners,  and  knew  that  many  of  them  are 
better  than  they  seem. 

So,  when  the  man  in  the  crowd  said,  "  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  passeth  by,"  Bartimseus  began  to 
cry  out,  and  say,  "  Jesus,  thou  son  of  David, 
have  mercy  on  me."  And  many  charged  him 
that  he  should  hold  his  peace.  They  told  him 
in  good  plain  Hebrew  to  be  still.  But  he  cried 
the  more  a  great  deal,  "  Thou  son  of  David, 
have  mercy  on  me."  And  Jesus  stood  still  at 
the  sound  of  this  loud  voice,  and  commanded 
him  to  be  called.  And  men,  seeing  that  the 
Master  would  befriend  the  blind  man,  changed 
their  manner,  and  spoke  kindly  to  him,  say- 
ing, "Be  of  good  comfort,  rise;  he  calleth 
thee." 


IN  THE  STREETS  OF  JERICHO       293 

Now  it  was  early  in  the  morning,  and  there 
was  a  chill  in  the  air,  for  the  spring  was 
young,  and  the  beggar  had  a  long  cloak 
wrapped  about  him.  This  he  cast  away,  and 
came  to  Jesus.  And  Jesus  said,  "  What  wilt 
thou  that  I  should  do  unto  thee  ?  "  The  blind 
man  said  unto  him,  "  Lord,  that  I  may  receive 
my  sight."  And  Jesus  answered,  "  Go  thy 
way  ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  And 
immediately  he  received  his  sight,  and  followed 
Jesus  in  the  way. 


How  THE  KING  CAME  TO  JERUSALEM, 
AND  WAS  BETRAYED  AND  CONDEMNED  AND 
PUT  TO  DEATH  UPON  THE  CROSS;  AND  HOW 
HE  ROSE  AGAIN  FROM  THE  DEAD  AND  AS- 
CENDED INTO  HEAVEN. 


PALMS  AND  PSALMS 

ON  they  came,  then,  our  Lord  and  the  Twelve, 
and  the  pilgrims  from  Galilee,  out  of  the  gates 
of  Jericho,  up  the  Red  Road,  on  the  way  to 
Jerusalem.  At  noon  they  rested  in  the  shadow 
of  the  great  rocks :  at  night  they  came  to 
Bethany.  The  little  town  was  already  full  of 
people  who  had  come  to  the  Feast  of  the  Pass- 
over. Some  of  them  slept  in  tents,  some  in 
the  fields,  some  in  the  houses  of  friends.  Our 
Lord  stayed  with  Lazarus.  The  next  day  was 
the  sabbath,  and  that  evening  they  made  him 
a  supper  in  the  house  of  a  Pharisee  named 
Simon,  who  had  been  a  leper.  For  not  all  the 
Pharisees  were  enemies.  Lazarus  sat  at  the 
table,  and  Martha  served.  That  was  the  time 
when  Mary  broke  the  alabaster  box  of  precious 
ointment.  She  broke  the  box,  and  poured  the 
ointment  on  our  Lord's  head. 

Some  of  the  guests  did  not  like  that,  per- 
haps because  they  felt  that  our  Lord  would  not 


298  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

like  it :  he  was  always  so  plain  and  simple, 
and  seemed  not  to  care  to  have  things  done  for 
him.  So  one  said,  thinking  he  was  speaking 
our  Lord's  thought,  "  Why  was  not  this  oint- 
ment sold  for  three  hundred  dollars,  and  given 
to  the  poor?  "  Thespeaker  had  also  another  and 
worse  reason  for  saying  what  he  did.  He  was 
the  treasurer  of  the  Twelve.  All  their  money 
was  kept  in  one  bag,  and  he  carried  the  bag. 
It  was  never  very  heavy :  partly  because  so 
little  was  put  into  it,  partly  because  so  much 
was  taken  out  whenever  they  found  anybody 
in  need,  and  partly  —  some  of  them  were  be- 
ginning to  suspect  —  because  the  treasurer 
took  what  did  not  belong  to  him ;  he  took 
money  out  of  the  bag  and  put  it  in  his  own 
pocket.  The  treasurer's  name  was  Judas 
Iscariot.  But  our  Lord  said  that  Mary  had 
done  right,  and  added,  —  looking  forward  to 
the  cross,  —  "  She  has  anointed  me  for  my 
burial." 

Then  came  the  day  which  we  call  Sunday, 
and  that  morning,  at  the  service  in  the  temple, 
people  were  saying  one  to  another,  "  Will  the 


PALMS  AND  PSALMS  299 

Prophet  come  ?  What  do  you  think,  will  he 
come  to  the  feast  ?  "  Some  answered,  "  No,  the 
rulers  have  determined  to  kill  him ;  he  will 
keep  himself  out  of  their  reach."  But  others 
answered,  "  Yes,  he  has  come  already.  Last 
night  he  slept  at  Bethany,  and  to-day  he  will 
be  seen  here  in  the  city."  "What  is  that?" 
men  cried.  "  Is  he  indeed  coming  ?  Let  us  go 
out  to  meet  him."  Accordingly  many  people 
went  out  from  Jerusalem,  singing  as  they  went, 
and  having  in  their  hands  branches  of  palms 
which  they  waved  as  the  wind  waves  the  tops 
of  the  trees. 

Meanwhile,  our  Lord  was  making  his  pre- 
parations at  Bethany.  It  had  been  written, 
centuries  before,  in  the  Old  Testament,  that 
when  the  King  came  he  would  come  sitting 
on  an  ass's  colt :  "  Fear  not,  daughter  of  Sion, 
behold,  thy  King  cometh,  sitting  on  an  ass's 
colt."  In  that  country  the  horse  was  used  in 
war,  the  ass  was  used  in  peace.  So  our  Lord 
sent  two  disciples  to  the  next  village,  where  a 
man  lived  whom  he  knew.  "  There,"  he  said, 
"  at  the  corner  of  the  street,  you  will  find  a 


300  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

colt  tied  by  the  door ;  loose  him,  and  bring  him 
to  me."  And  they  found,  as  he  had  said,  and 
untied  the  colt ;  and  the  man  who  owned  the 
beast  looked  out  and  said,  "What  are  you 
doing  with  my  colt  ?  "  and  they  answered,  as 
our  Lord  had  taught  them,  "  The  Master 
needs  him."  So  the  owner  knew  that  they 
had  come  from  his  friend  the  Prophet  of 
Nazareth,  as  had  been  arranged. 

They  brought  the  colt,  and  cast  their  long 
cloaks  over  his  back  for  a  saddle,  and  seated 
our  Lord  thereon,  and  started  for  the  city. 
There  was  a  great  company  of  people  follow- 
ing, and  presently  they  met  the  multitude  who 
were  coming  from  Jerusalem,  who  turned 
about  so  that  Jesus  was  in  the  midst.  And 
they  threw  their  garments  in  the  road  that  he 
might  ride  over  them,  and  tore  down  branches 
from  the  trees  and  spread  them  in  the  way,  and 
sang  psalms :  "  Hosanna :  blessed  is  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  :  Hosanna  in 
the  highest."  And  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
disciples  rejoiced  with  great  joy,  and  praised 
God  with  a  loud  voice  for  all  the  mighty  works 


PALMS  AND  PSALMS  301 

that  they  had  seen.  One  cried, "  He  healed  the 
sick  in  our  town.  They  were  brought  to  him 
on  beds  and  went  away  walking  and  leaping." 
Another  cried,  "  I  was  dumb,  and  he  made  me 
speak."  And  another,  "  I  was  a  leper,  and  he 
made  me  clean."  And  others,  "  We  stood  by 
when  Lazarus  came  out  of  the  grave."  The 
loudest  voice  of  all  was  that  of  BartimaBus, 
crying,  "  I  was  blind  and  he  gave  me  sight." 
Thus  they  went,  laughing  and  crying,  shout- 
ing and  singing,  and  Jesus  riding  in  the  midst ; 
till  some  of  the  Pharisees  said,  "  This  is  too 
much.  Master,  rebuke  thy  disciples."  And  he 
answered,  "  I  tell  you  that,  if  these  should 
hold  their  peace,  the  stones  would  immediately 
cry  out." 

In  this  manner  the  King  came  towards  his 
own  city.  Even  now  he  wore  no  crown,  and  had 
no  royal  robe  upon  his  shoulders  :  he  was  very 
different  from  other  kings.  Nevertheless  he 
came  as  a  king,  to  see  at  last  whether  they  would 
accept  him  or  reject  him.  Even  on  the  way, 
in  the  midst  of  the  palms  and  the  psalms,  his 
heart  sank  within  him.  He  felt  that  the  Phar- 


302  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

isees,  with  their  cold  looks,  represented  most 
of  the  people.  It  was  indeed  possible  that  the 
city  might  give  him  a  loyal  greeting,  but  not 
likely.  They  came  to  a  place  in  the  road  where 
the  way  rounds  a  corner  of  the  mountain,  and 
Jerusalem  came  suddenly  into  view  across  a  deep 
ravine.  There  it  lay,  the  holy  city,  on  its  splen- 
did hills,  with  its  great  buildings,  and,  crowning 
all,  the  stately  temple  with  its  shining  roofs. 
Then  the  King  stopped,  and  tears  came  into  his 
eyes,  and  he  cried,  with  a  bitter  lamentation, 
"  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou  at  least  in 
this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy 
peace  !  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes." 
And  so  it  was.  It  seemed  for  a  moment  as  if 
all  the  world  had  gone  after  him ;  the  city  was 
moved  at  his  entrance  ;  but  the  movement  was 
one  of  curiosity.  Few  people  had  any  idea  what 
the  procession  meant.  They  saw  a  crowd  of 
farmers  from  Galilee,  and  one  riding  amongst 
them,  and  they  said,  "  Who  is  this?"  and  the 
farmers  answered,  "  This  is  Jesus,  the  Pro- 
phet of  Nazareth  of  Galilee."  But  the  city  folk 
thought  little  of  the  people  who  lived  in  the 


303 

country.  They  paid  no  more  attention.  And 
in  a  little  while  the  men  with  the  palm  branches 
were  lost  in  the  general  crowd  which  filled  the 
streets. 

The  disowned  King  went  into  the  temple, 
and  there  looked  about,  sadly  and  sternly,  and 
then  returned  alone,  or  with  only  the  Twelve 
beside  him,  to  spend  the  night  at  Bethany. 


n 

THREE  DAYS  OF  THE  HOLY  WEEK 

ON  Monday,  coming  from  Bethany  down  the 
Mount  of  Olives  to  Jerusalem,  Jesus  saw  a  fig- 
tree  full  of  leaves,  and  turned  aside  to  gather 
some  of  the  fruit ;  but  not  a  fig  was  to  be 
found  upon  it ;  there  was  nothing  but  leaves. 
It  was  like  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  who 
seemed  to  be  so  good,  with  their  splendid 
temple  and  their  many  synagogues,  and  all 
their  services  and  their  interest  in  the  church, 
but  were  not  so  good  as  they  seemed.  And 
our  Lord  said,  "Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee 
henceforward  for  ever."  So  they  went  on  into 
the  city. 

Our  Lord  entered  into  the  temple,  and  there 
looked  again  upon  the  sights  which  he  had 
observed  the  day  before  with  such  sad  and 
stern  eyes.  For  the  temple  stood,  as  you  re- 
member, in  a  great  yard  which  was  paved  with 
stone  and  had  a  stone  wall  about  it.  This  yard 
was  called  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  because 


THREE  DAYS  OF  THE  HOLY  WEEK    305 

the  Gentiles  were  free  to  go  into  it  if  they 
chose,  though  they  were  not  allowed  to  pass 
the  gate  of  the  temple  itself.  It  had  been  in- 
tended that  this  court  should  be  a  holy  place 
for  strangers.  It  was  hoped  that  men  who 
were  not  Jews  might  enter  and  remember  God 
and  pray  to  him. 

But  nobody  was  praying  there  that  day. 
The  Feast  of  the  Passover,  with  its  multi- 
tudes of  worshiping  pilgrims,  had  of  course 
increased  the  number  of  the  sacrifices.  Every- 
body who  came  to  the  holy  city  would  wish  to 
offer  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  in  the  temple. 
And  in  order  to  accommodate  these  pilgrims, 
so  that  they  might  get  the  oxen,  the  sheep,  and 
the  doves  which  they  must  bring  to  the  priests, 
a  market  was  opened  in  the  Gentile  court. 
Indeed,  it  was  much  more  like  a  county  fair 
than  like  a  church.  There  were  stalls  for  sheep 
and  oxen,  and  cages  for  doves,  and  men  were 
buying  and  selling.  There  were  tables  at  which 
money-changers  sat  to  trade  small  coins  for 
large  ones,  and  to  exchange  foreign  money 
for  Jewish.  And  those  who  bought  and  those 


306  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

who  sold  were  making  a  great  noise,  filling 
the  air  with  shouts  and  cries.  Thus  prayer 
was  made  impossible. 

This  our  Lord  had  observed  the  day  before. 
Now,  when  he  came  back,  he  had  a  whip  in  his 
hand,  —  a  scourge  of  small  cords.  And  pre- 
sently there  was  a  great  commotion  in  the  place. 
They  who  were  coming  in  at  the  gates  met 
sheep  and  oxen  rushing  out,  and  behind  the 
sheep  and  oxen  was  our  Lord.  He  overturned 
the  tables  of  the  money-changers,  and  the 
seats  of  those  who  sold  doves,  crying,  "  Take 
these  things  hence."  "  Is  it  not  written,"  he 
said,  " '  My  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of 
prayer  for  all  nations  ? '  but  ye  have  made  it 
a  den  of  thieves."  He  would  not  even  allow 
men  to  carry  bundles  across  the  yard.  He 
stopped  whatever  interfered  with  prayer.  There 
he  stood,  in  the  name  of  God,  rebuking  the 
traders  and  the  priests.  Thus  for  the  second 
time  our  Lord  presented  himself  as  the  leader 
of  the  people.  This  time,  many  were  impressed, 
and  a  company  of  choir  boys,  coming  out  of 
the  temple,  began  to  sing  verses  of  psalms 


THREE  DAYS  OF  THE  HOLY  WEEK  307 

which  had  been  sung  the  day  before  on  the 
way  from  Bethany,  —  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son 
of  David." 

On  Tuesday,  coming  again  to  Jerusalem, 
our  Lord  and  the  Twelve  passed  the  barren  fig- 
tree,  and  behold,  it  was  withered  away.  When 
he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the  chief  priests 
and  the  elders  of  the  people  came  to  him  and 
said,  "  By  what  authority  doest  thou  these 
things  ?  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority  ? " 
But  they  dared  not  lay  hands  upon  him,  for 
now  many  of  the  people  were  on  his  side,  tak- 
ing him  for  a  prophet.  So  all  that  day  he 
taught  in  the  temple,  and  the  Pharisees  and 
the  Sadducees  disputed  with  him,  asking  him 
hard  questions,  trying  to  entangle  him  in  his 
talk,  hoping  that  he  might  say  something 
which  they  could  use  against  him.  But  he  put 
them  all  to  silence. 

As  the  sun  was  setting  he  went  away  with 
his  disciples,  knowing  that  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  stay  in  the  city  after  dark.  And  they 
sat  down  outside  the  walls,  on  the  rocks  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  The  sun  as  it  went  down 


308  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

shone  upon  the  city  and  the  temple,  so  that 
the  disciples  were  amazed  at  the  strength  and 
beauty  of  the  place.  "  Master,"  they  cried, 
"  see  what  manner  of  stones  and  what  build- 
ings are  here  !  "  But  he  answered, "  Seest  thou 
these  great  buildings  ?  there  shall  not  be  left 
one  stone  upon  another  that  shall  not  be 
thrown  down."  And  he  told  them  how  the 
splendid  city  should  be  destroyed,  and  how  at 
a  time  which  no  man  knew,  not  even  he  him- 
self, even  the  wide  world  should  come  to  an 
end,  and  how  he  would  return  to  be  the  judge 
of  all  men. 

On  one  of  these  three  days,  as  he  went  away, 
he  took  his  leave  of  Jerusalem,  as  he  had  be- 
fore taken  his  leave  of  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida 
and  Capernaum,  saying,  "  0  Jerusalem,  Jeru- 
salem, thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and 
stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  to- 
gether, even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !  " 

On  Wednesday,  the  fear  and  anger  of  the 
chief  priests  and  the  scribes  and  the  elders  of 


THREE  DAYS  OF  THE  HOLY  WEEK  309 

the  people  came  to  such  a  pass  that  they  held 
a  meeting  in  the  palace  of  the  high  priest, 
Caiaphas,  and  consulted  that  they  might  take 
Jesus  and  kill  him.  But  they  decided  that  they 
must  wait  till  the  feast  was  over,  and  the  pil- 
grims were  gone  home.  They  did  not  dare  to 
take  him  publicly,  on  account  of  the  people. 
As  they  were  still  debating,  however,  there 
was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  somebody  came 
back  with  strange  news.  "  There  is  a  man  here 
who  says  that  he  is  one  of  the  disciples  of  the 
prophet.  Shall  we  let  him  in  ?  "  "  Yes,"  they 
said,  "  admit  him."  And  in  came  one  of  the 
Twelve,  the  dishonest  treasurer,  Judas  Isca- 
riot.  And  Judas  said,  "  What  will  ye  give  me, 
and  I  will  deliver  him  unto  you  ?  I  will  lead 
you  to  a  place  where  you  may  seize  him 
quietly,  and  take  him.  What  will  you  pay 
me  ?  "  And  they  promised  to  give  him  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  So  he  went  out  of  the  meet- 
ing of  the  clergy,  leaving  them  very  glad,  and 
shut  the  priest's  door  behind  him,  and  walked 
again  beside  our  Lord. 


Ill 

PHAEISEES     AND      SADDUCEES     AND 
WEDDING  GUESTS 

ON  one  of  these  three  days  our  Lord  told  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  that  they  were  like 
the  guests  whom  a  king  invited  to  a  wedding. 

Once,  he  said,  there  was  a  king  whose  son 
was  to  be  married.  The  king  had  planned  to 
celebrate  this  glad  event  by  giving  a  splendid 
dinner,  and  had  sent  out  many  invitations. 
All  the  chief  people  of  the  land  had  been 
bidden  to  the  wedding.  So  the  day  came,  and 
the  king  sent  forth  his  servants  to  say  to  them 
that  were  bidden,  "  Come ;  for  all  things  are 
now  ready."  But  they  would  not  come.  The 
servants  came  back,  and  there  was  no  one 
with  them. 

This  was  so  strange  a  thing,  —  for  most 
persons  will  think  twice  before  they  decline 
an  invitation  to  a  royal  wedding,  —  that  the 
king  said  to  himself,  "There  is  some  mis- 
understanding. The  servants  must  have  made 


WEDDING  GUESTS  311 

a  mistake.  Perhaps  they  did  not  make  it  plain 
that  this  is  the  day."  So  he  sent  other  ser- 
vants, saying,  "  Tell  them  which  are  bidden, 
'  Behold,  I  have  prepared  my  dinner ;  my  oxen 
and  my  fatlings  are  killed,  and  all  things  are 
ready ;  come  unto  the  marriage.' '  It  must 
have  been  a  great  banquet ;  they  had  roasted 
several  oxen,  and  fatlings  besides.  But  again 
the  servants  came  back  without  the  guests, 
bringing  only  their  excuses.  One  of  the  in- 
vited guests  said,  "  I  have  bought  a  piece  of 
ground,  and  I  must  needs  go  and  see  it.  I  pray 
thee  have  me  excused."  And  off  he  went  down 
the  right-hand  road  into  the  country  to  his 
farm.  Another  said,  "  I  have  bought  five  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  I  go  to  prove  them ;  I  pray  thee 
have  me  excused."  And  off  he  went  down  the 
left-hand  road  into  the  country  to  his  farm. 
Another  said,  "  I  am  very  busy  to-day,  buying 
and  selling ;  I  cannot  leave  the  store."  Another 
said,  "  I  have  married  a  wife,  and  therefore  I 
cannot  come."  None  of  these  excuses  were 
good  ones.  The  new  acres  and  the  new  oxen 
would  keep  until  the  morrow ;  the  day  of  the 


312  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

marriage  of  the  prince  was  a  holiday,  and  no 
time  for  shop-keeping;  as  for  the  man  who 
was  just  married,  he  might  have  brought  his 
wife  along.  It  was  plain  that  in  truth  the  in- 
vited guests  did  not  wish  to  sit  at  the  king's 
table.  That  was  what  was  the  matter. 

Indeed,  a  few  of  the  servants  did  not  come 
back  from  their  errand,  because  some  of  the 
guests  had  not  only  declined  the  invitation 
which  they  brought,  but  had  set  the  dogs  upon 
them,  and  beaten  them ;  some  they  had  killed. 
The  servants  showed  their  torn  coats  and  their 
bruised  shoulders,  and  told  the  sad  fate  of  their 
companions,  and  the  king  was  very  angry.  He 
sent  out  soldiers  to  punish  the  murderers  as 
they  deserved. 

Meanwhile,  there  was  nobody  to  sit  down  to 
dinner  with  the  king  and  queen,  or  to  do  honor 
to  the  prince  and  the  new  princess.  So  the  king 
said  to  the  servants,  "  The  wedding  is  ready, 
but  they  which  were  bidden  were  not  worthy. 
Go  out  now  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city 
and  bring  in  all  who  will  come, — the  poor,  the 
maimed,  and  the  lame,  and  the  blind."  Then 


WEDDING  GUESTS  313 

the  servants  went  as  they  were  told  into  the 
streets  and  lanes  and  invited  to  the  king's  din- 
ner those  who  had  never  had  a  good  meal  in 
their  lives.  "  The  king,"  they  cried,  "  holds  a 
great  feast  to-night  in  his  royal  palace.  Even 
now  the  table  is  spread,  with  an  ox  at  each 
end  and  any  number  o£  fatlings  in  between ; 
and  you  are  invited,  and  you,  and  you,"  point- 
ing now  to  one  and  now  to  another.  "  Come 
you  all  into  the  king's  banquet-hall  and  sit  at 
the  feast  which  the  king  gives  in  honor  of  his 
son." 

So  there  came  all  manner  of  people,  poor 
folks  in  rags,  and  men  on  crutches,  and  blind 
men  led  by  their  little  boys  or  dogs.  But  even 
then  the  tables  were  not  filled.  For  so  gener- 
ous and  universal  was  the  invitation  that  a  good 
many  people  did  not  believe  that  the  king  had 
sent  it.  "  Who  are  we  ?  "  they  said  one  to  an- 
other, "  that  the  king  should  send  for  us  ?  What 
cares  he  for  the  like  of  us  ?  "  They  thought  it 
was  all  too  good  to  be  true.  So  yet  there  was 
room.  And  the  king  sent  the  servants  out  again, 
saying, "  Go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 


314  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

into  the  country,  and  along  the  roads,  where 
strangers  pass,  and  compel  them  to  come  in, 
that  my  house  may  be  filled."  And  the  wedding 
at  last  was  furnished  with  guests. 

That  is  what  our  Lord  said,  and  the  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees  listened,  knowing  that  he 
meant  them.  They  were  the  court  people,  whom 
God  the  king  had  set  in  office  and  esteem  in 
his  kingdom.  And  God's  servants,  like  John 
the  Baptist,  had  gone  bidding  them  to  sit  at  the 
royal  table  and  to  enter  into  the  joy  of  their 
Lord.  John  the  Baptist  had  been  killed,  and 
the  apostles  had  been  turned  away,  as  in  old 
times  the  prophets  had  been  stoned.  So  God 
would  take  them  at  their  word,  and  would  open 
the  palace  —  his  church  —  to  all  sorts  of  peo- 
ple, to  Gentiles  and  Samaritans  and  publicans 
and  sinners. 

But  there  was  another  chapter  in  the  story. 
This  he  spoke  to  such  as  were  accepting  the 
divine  invitation.  By  and  by,  he  said,  after  the 
tables  were  filled  and  the  dinner  was  in  pro- 
gress, the  king  came  in  to  see  the  guests.  Now, 
one  thing  had  been  required  of  all  who  came : 


WEDDING  GUESTS  315 

each  was  to  put  on  a  wedding  garment.  But 
the  people  who  lived  in  the  lanes  had  no  such 
fine  attire,  neither  had  the  guests  who  had  been 
found  in  the  shade  of  the  hedges,  and  the  stran- 
gers who  had  been  brought  in  from  the  high- 
ways had  no  such  apparel  in  their  bags.  So  the 
king  provided  wedding  garments  for  them  all. 
"  This,"  said  the  servants  at  the  door,  "  you 
must  put  on,  —  this  robe  of  white,  or  that  of 
purple,  and  then  you  may  enter."  But  one  man 
strode  in,  paying  no  attention.  And  when  the 
king  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  saw  this  man 
sitting  in  his  dusty  coat.  And  the  king  called 
the  man,  and  spoke  to  him  in  kind  but  re- 
proving words.  "Friend,"  he  said,  "how earnest 
thou  in  hither,  not  having  a  wedding  gar- 
ment ?  "  And  the  man  was  speechless.  He  had 
no  excuse.  He  had  thought  that  it  did  not 
matter.  He  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  heed 
the  king's  one  requirement.  So  the  king  told 
the  servants  to  take  him  and  turn  him  out ; 
and  out  he  went  from  the  shining  hall  into  the 
dark  night. 

Our  Lord  meant  that  God  invites  us  all  into 


316  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

the  joy  of  his  presence,  into  his  favor  here  and 
into  heaven  hereafter.  No  matter  who  we  are, 
though  we  be  poor  and  blind  and  lame,  he  asks 
us  all.  But  he  wishes  us  to  put  on  the  wedding 
garment  of  a  good  life  ;  he  wishes  us  to  clothe 
ourselves  with  modesty,  and  honesty,  and  truth, 
with  the  mantle  of  charity  and  prayer.  He  who 
fails  to  do  so,  though  he  be  but  one  among  a 
multitude,  God  will  discover  him  and  send  him 
into  outer  darkness. 

Again,  on  one  of  those  days  when  he  taught 
in  the  Temple,  he  told  about  another  wed- 
ding. 

One  time,  he  said,  there  were  ten  virgins  who 
were  waiting.  There  they  sat,  watching  for  a 
procession.  The  ten  were  bridesmaids,  and  that 
evening  the  bridegroom  was  to  come  to  meet 
his  bride,  and  they  were  all  to  go  together  to 
the  wedding.  And  since  it  was  dark,  the  ten 
had  brought  their  lamps  with  them.  The  lamps 
were  round  bowls  to  hold  oil,  each  with  a  wick 
to  float  in  it ;  and  each  bowl  had  a  sharp  point 
at  the  bottom  to  stick  into  the  end  of  a  pole. 
Thus  they  were  not  unlike  the  torches  which 


WEDDING  GUESTS  317 

are  used  nowadays  in  torchlight  parades.  But 
the  wedding  people  were  late  in  coming,  —  as 
is  frequently  the  case,  —  and  the  watching  was 
long,  and  the  hours  went  on  to  ten  and  then 
to  eleven,  in  a  country  where  all  people  were 
accustomed  to  go  to  bed  early,  and  finally  the 
bridesmaids  fell  asleep.  The  torches  stood,  ten 
in  a  row,  against  the  wall,  and  the  bridesmaids 
slumbered  and  slept. 

And  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made, 
u  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh ;  go  ye  out 
to  meet  him."  And  one  looked,  and  there,  far 
down  the  long  street,  were  lights  and  people. 
The  procession  was  approaching.  So  the  ten 
maidens,  in  great  haste,  began  to  prepare  their 
lamps.  But  now  a  discovery  was  made :  five 
of  the  lamps  were  empty.  Five  of  the  brides- 
maids had  brought  their  lamps,  but  had  neg- 
lected to  put  any  oil  into  them.  Were  they 
thinking  of  their  beautiful  dresses,  so  that 
they  forgot  ?  Or  did  they  say,  "  Oh,  well,  we 
shall  manage  somehow :  we  shall  get  some  oil 
somewhere?"  They  were  like  the  men  and 
women  who  never  say  their  prayers,  nor  go 


318  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

to  church,  nor  think  much  about  pleasing 
God,  saying  to  themselves,  "  It  will  come  out 
all  right  somehow." 

But  all  the  time  the  procession  was  advan- 
cing, and  they  had  no  oil ;  at  least,  they  had 
only  enough  to  make  a  little  sputtering  flicker 
in  the  wick.  And  the  foolish  maidens  said  unto 
the  wise,  "  Give  us  of  your  oil ;  for  our  lamps 
are  gone  out."  They  thought  that  there  would 
be  enough  oil  to  go  around.  There  are  some 
who  think  that  if  they  do  but  belong  to  the 
church,  or  are  members  of  a  religious  family, 
it  wiU  not  matter  much  about  their  own  lives : 
when  the  time  comes,  they  will  go  into  heaven 
with  the  others.  But  the  foolish  five  were  much 
mistaken.  The  wise  five  had  just  enough  for 
themselves,  and  not  a  drop  to  spare.  So  the 
wise  said,  "  You  must  go  and  buy  some  oil. 
Our  lamps  will  go  out,  too,  if  we  take  any  of 
our  oil  out,  and  there  will  be  no  lights  to  greet 
the  bridegroom." 

Then  the  foolish  bridesmaids  hurried  away 
in  great  distress  to  find  some  oil.  But  it  was 
now  the  middle  of  the  night ;  the  grocers  had 


WEDDING  GUESTS  319 

long  ago  shut  up  their  shops.  Here  they  ran 
and  there  they  ran,  knocking  at  this  door  and 
at  that,  trying  to  buy  or  borrow  oil ;  but  all 
in  vain. 

And  while  they  went  to  buy,  the  bridegroom 
came.  The  wedding  procession,  with  music 
and  laughter,  and  lights  and  singing,  passed, 
and  the  wise  virgins  took  their  places  in  it, 
with  their  lamps  shining  like  great  stars.  So 
they  went  to  the  house  of  the  wedding.  And 
when  they  were  all  in,  do  you  know  what  they 
did  ?  they  shut  the  door.  They  that  were  ready 
went  in  with  the  bridegroom  to  the  marriage, 
and  the  door  was  shut. 

And  by  and  by,  there  was  a  sound  outside 
as  of  hurrying  feet,  and  of  hard  breathing 
after  long  running,  and  there  were  the  foolish 
virgins.  They  had  no  oil  in  their  lamps,  but 
they  stood  in  the  dark  and  knocked.  They 
knocked  and  knocked,  but  the  music  drowned 
the  sound.  Then  they  called  ;  "  Lord,  Lord," 
they  cried,  "  open  to  us."  But  the  bridegroom 
answered  and  said,  "  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I 
know  you  not.  Here  are  my  friends,  beside 


320  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

me  in  the  house.    Who  are  you  who  come  so 
late?" 

"  Watch,  therefore,"  said  the  Master,  "  for 
ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein 
the  Son  of  man  cometh."  And  when  he 
comes,  a  lamp  is  of  no  use  unless  it  has  oil  in 
it.  And  the  Master  looked  at  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees ;  for  the  lamp  of  a  good  pro- 
fession will  light  no  one  into  the  approval  of 
God  without  the  oil  of  a  good  life. 


IV 
THE  LAST  SUPPER 

ON  Thursday  the  Feast  of  the  Passover  began. 
It  celebrated  the  birth  of  the  Jewish  nation. 
The  Jews  had  been  slaves  in  Egypt,  and  on 
that  day,  ages  before,  they  had  escaped.  They 
had  been  in  a  great  hurry,  for  they  knew  not 
at  what  moment  the  Egyptians  might  pursue 
them,  and  there  had  been  no  time  for  them 
to  make  bread.  They  had  eaten  supper,  each 
family  in  its  own  house,  having  a  lamb  for 
meat.  The  blood  of  the  lamb  they  had 
sprinkled  on  the  side-posts  of  the  door,  as  a 
sign  to  the  avenging  angel  that  Jews  and  not 
Egyptians  lived  there,  and  the  angel,  seeing 
the  blood,  had  passed  over  their  houses,  but 
in  every  house  of  the  Egyptians  there  was 
mourning  that  night.  For  bread,  they  mixed 
together  flour  and  water,  and  baked  it  without 
yeast.  This  is  what  is  called  unleavened  bread. 
And  when  the  anniversary  of  that  escape  came 
round,  centuries  and  centuries  after,  they  kept 


322  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

it  by  sitting  down  to  the  same  kind  of  supper, 
—  a  lamb,  and  bread  unleavened,  —  remem- 
bering how  God  had  delivered  their  ancestors 
out  of  Egyptian  bondage.  This  they  do  even 
to  this  day. 

Jerusalem,  then,  was  full  of  people ;  for  the 
lamb  must  first  be  offered  in  the  temple,  and 
the  supper  must  be  eaten  in  the  city.  Every 
house  was  filled  with  guests.  In  all  the 
markets  men  were  buying  lambs,  in  every 
kitchen  women  were  making  ready  to  roast 
them.  Accordingly,  that  morning,  the  dis- 
ciples said  to  the  Master,  "  Where  do  we  go 
to-day  to  eat  the  Passover?  In  whose  house 
shall  we  find  a  room  and  a  table  for  our 
feast  ?  "  But  in  the  group  stood  Judas,  listen- 
ing. To-day,  for  the  first  time,  the  Master 
would  stay  in  the  city  after  dark ;  where  would 
he  stay  ?  There  might  the  rulers  send  to  take 
him.  There,  in  the  night,  when  all  the  people 
were  sitting  at  their  suppers,  and  nobody  was 
in  the  streets,  he  might  be  arrested  without 
noise  or  tumult.  Where  would  he  go  ? 

But  our  Lord  saw  the  face  of  Judas.  A  man 


S 


THE  LAST   SUPPER  323 

who  has  such  thoughts  in  his  heart  as  Judas 
had,  can  hardly  help  showing  them  in  his  eyes, 
even  if  he  does  not  reveal  them  with  his  lips. 
As  the  weeks  had  passed  since  the  day  when 
Jesus  told  the  disciples  that  he  would  be  put 
to  death,  he  had  seen  a  change  in  Judas.  Judas 
had  continued  with  the  Twelve,  but  he  had  been 
ill  at  ease.  He  had  hoped  once,  as  did  they  all, 
that  the  King  would  appear  in  power.  Indeed, 
as  we  have  seen,  they  still  had  that  hope,  even 
as  they  drew  near  to  Jerusalem  on  the  last  jour- 
ney. But  the  hope  of  Judas  had  grown  less 
and  less.  He  had  seen  how  our  Lord's  enemies 
increased  in  number  and  in  hatred.  For  a  mo- 
ment, on  the  day  of  palms  and  psalms,  he  had 
held  up  his  head,  thinking  that  the  city  would 
receive  its  King.  But  the  procession  had  been 
a  failure,  and  after  that  Judas  expected  no- 
thing. Then  on  Monday  our  Lord  had  driven 
out  the  traders  ;  and  the  Sadducees,  as  he  knew 
well,  would  not  forgive  that.  It  was  plain  to 
Judas  that  all  would  soon  be  over.  It  was  plain 
also  to  Jesus  that  Judas  had  lost  hope,  and  with 
it  had  lost  faith. 


324  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

And  therefore  the  false  apostle  listened 
eagerly  to  learn  where  the  supper  would  be 
eaten.  But  our  Lord  had  arranged  it  so  that 
he  should  not  know.  Jesus  turned  to  the  two 
disciples  in  whom  he  felt  he  could  put  perfect 
trust  and  gave  them  his  directions.  "  Go  into 
Jerusalem,"  he  said,  "  and  in  the  street  as  you 
pass  the  gate  you  will  see  a  man  carrying  a 
pitcher  of  water.  Follow  that  man,  and  when 
he  goes  into  a  house,  go  in  after  him.  Ask  for 
the  master  of  the  house,  and  say  to  him,  '  The 
Lord  sends  you  this  message :  "  Where  is  the 
guest  chamber  where  I  shall  eat  the  Passover 
with  my  disciples  ?  "  '  And  he  shall  show  you  a 
large  upper  room  furnished:  then  make  ready." 
Thus  Judas  was  no  wiser  than  before. 

The  two  went,  and  there  was  the  man  with 
the  water  pitcher ;  and  as  he  turned  about,  they 
followed  :  so  they  came  to  the  house,  and  all 
happened  as  the  Master  had  arranged.  There 
was  a  large  upper  room,  reached  by  an  outside 
stairway,  and  in  it  was  a  table,  with  couches 
placed  about  it.  Then  Peter  and  John  carried 
a  lamb  to  the  Temple,  that  a  priest  might  kill 


THE  LAST  SUPPER  325 

it,  and  brought  it  back  to  have  it  cooked,  and 
all  things  were  made  ready  for  the  supper.  The 
sun  set,  and  the  evening  came,  and  under  cover 
of  the  darkness  our  Lord  and  the  others  made 
their  way  down  the  Mount  of  Olives,  into  the 
city,  to  the  upper  room. 

Now,  as  they  took  their  places  there  was  a 
strife  among  them  which  of  them  should  be 
accounted  the  greatest ;  that  is,  they  desired, 
each  of  them,  to  sit  beside  the  Master  in  the 
place  of  honor.  Peter  said,  "The  place  is 
mine  :  I  am  the  oldest."  John  said,  "  No,  it 
is  mine  :  he  likes  me  best."  Our  Lord  seems 
not  to  have  settled  the  matter,  putting  one 
above  and  one  below.  That  was  not  his  way. 
He  showed  them  how  it  was  all  wrong,  —  all 
that  contention  as  to  which  should  fare  better 
than  another.  He  rose  from  the  table  and  laid 
aside  his  cloak,  and  took  a  towel  and  tied  it 
about  his  waist.  After  that,  he  poured  water 
into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  the  disciples' 
feet  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel.  For  in 
that  country,  where  men  wore  sandals,  it  was 
the  custom  for  a  servant  to  wash  the  feet  of 


326  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

guests  who  came  in  from  the  heat  and  dust. 
Our  Lord,  then,  looking  into  the  faces  of 
the  Twelve  who  had  been  disputing  which 
was  the  greatest,  took  the  part  of  a  servant. 
Peter,  indeed,  protested,  as  no  doubt  they  all 
did.  Peter  said,  "  Lord,  dost  thou  wash  my 
feet?  Thou  shalt  never  wash  my  feet !  "  But 
our  Lord  insisted.  He  washed  their  feet,  even 
the  feet  of  Judas.  Then  he  said,  as  he  put 
his  cloak  about  him,  and  took  his  place  again, 
"  Do  you  know  what  I  have  done  ?  I  whom 
you  all  call  greatest  have  washed  your  feet, 
like  a  servant.  That  is  what  the  greatest 
ought  to  do.  He  only  is  truly  great  who  is 
serving  others." 

Then  they  went  on  with  the  Passover  sup- 
per. There  was  a  roasted  lamb  upon  the  ta- 
ble, and  a  dish  of  bitter  herbs,  like  lettuce, 
with  vinegar  in  which  to  dip  them,  and  cakes 
of  unleavened  bread,  round  and  flat.  After 
they  had  eaten,  came  a  solemn  conclusion  of 
the  feast.  A  cup  of  wine  was  blessed  and 
passed  about,  and  then  the  herbs  were  eaten, 
each  person  dipping  the  leaves  in  the  vinegar. 


THE   LAST  SUPPER  327 

Here  our  Lord  paused,  and  looking  about  on 
the  disciples  said,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me."  You 
know,  he  meant,  how  I  sit  here  in  peril  of  my 
life,  how  the  rulers  have  passed  a  sentence 
against  me  that  I  must  die,  and  are  watching 
daily  to  take  me.  One  of  you,  my  friends, 
shall  deliver  me  into  their  hands.  This  he 
said,  with  sorrow  in  his  face.  "  The  Scrip- 
ture must  be  fulfilled,"  he  said,  "  where  it  is 
written,  '  He  that  eateth  bread  with  me  hath 
lifted  up  his  heel  against  me.' ' '  And  they 
were  exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began  every 
one  of  them  to  say  unto  him,  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ? 
is  it  I  ? "  To  which  our  Lord  replied,  "  He 
that  dippeth  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish, 
the  same  shall  betray  me.  One  of  you,  my 
friends,  who  at  this  moment  is  eating  this 
supper  with  me  shall  do  this  deed.  The  Son 
of  man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  him :  but  woe 
unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is 
betrayed !  it  had  been  good  for  that  man  if 
he  had  not  been  born."  Then  Judas  said  in  a 
faint  voice,  "Is  it  I ?  "  and  John  whispered, 


328  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

lying  next  to  Jesus,  "  Lord,  who  is  it  ?  "  and 
the  Lord  dipped  leaves  in  the  vinegar  and 
gave  them  to  Judas,  saying,  "  What  thou 
doest,  do  quickly."  But  this  he  said  in  such  a 
way  that  no  man  at  the  table  knew  the  meaning 
of  it.  Some  thought  that  Jesus  was  sending  the 
treasurer  on  some  necessary  errand.  Judas, 
however,  knew.  Up  he  started  from  the  pre- 
sence of  his  Master,  from  the  company  of  the 
friends  among  whom  he  had  lived  so  long  and 
intimately,  and  turned  his  back  upon  them 
all,  and  went  out  into  the  night. 

Then,  in  the  order  of  the  feast,  came  the 
blessing  of  a  second  cup,  which  was  followed  by 
the  recitation  of  the  story  of  the  escape  from 
Egypt,  and  by  the  singing  of  certain  psalms, 
from  the  one  hundred  and  thirteenth  to  the 
one  hundred  and  fifteenth.  And  as  he  blessed 
the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  told  them  to 
take  it  and  divide  it  amongst  themselves,  he 
said,  "I  say  unto  you  that  I  will  drink  no 
more  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  until  that  day 
that  I  drink  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God." 
And  they  began  to  understand  that  the  end 


THE  LAST  SUPPER  329 

•was  near  at  hand  and  that  this  was  the  last 
supper. 

Then  he  took  bread,  and  when  he  had  given 
thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  disciples, 
saying,  "  Take,  eat :  this  is  my  body,  which  is 
given  for  you :  do  this  in  remembrance  of  me." 
And  then  the  cup,  with  which  the  Passover 
supper  ended  :  and  when  he  had  given  thanks, 
he  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  "  This  is  my  blood 
of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  you, 
and  for  many,  for  the  remission  of  sins  :  do 
this,  as  oft  as  ye  shall  drink  it,  in  remembrance 
of  me."  He  had  told  them  that  he  was  to  die, 
but  now  he  added  that  he  was  to  die  for  them 
and  for  many.  And  he  asked  them  to  remem- 
ber. When  you  sit  at  the  table  together  after 
I  am  gone,  break  the  bread  as  I  am  doing,  and 
pour  the  wine,  and  think  of  me  ;  how  my  body 
was  broken  and  my  blood  was  shed. 

After  that,  he  talked  with  them  long  and 
tenderly,  trying  to  show  them  how  it  was  best 
for  them  that  he  should  go  away,  and  telling 
them  that  they  must  show  their  love  for  him 
by  doing  the  things  which  he  had  taught  them. 


330  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

"  I  see  that  you  are  very  sorry,"  he  said. 
"  Sorrow  hath  filled  your  heart.  Indeed,  the 
hour  cometh,  yea,  is  now  come,  that  ye  shall 
be  scattered  every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall 
leave  me  alone.  Yet  I  will  give  you  peace.  Be 
of  good  cheer.  I  have  overcome  the  world." 
Then  he  prayed  with  them,  and  when  they  had 
sung  another  hymn  —  the  psalms,  from  the 
one  hundred  and  fifteenth  to  the  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteenth  —  they  went  out  into  the 
Mount  of  Olives. 


V 

IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE 

THE  full  moon  was  shining  as  our  Lord  and  the 
disciples  came  down  the  outer  stairs  from  the 
upper  room.  The  streets  were  still,  except  where 
sounds  of  merry  voices  came  from  the  houses 
where  happy  people  sat  at  the  Passover  table. 
The  little  company  met  no  opposition  on  the 
way,  and  passed  without  hindrance  through 
the  city  gate.  The  road  ran  down  the  hill  into 
a  deep  valley,  crossed  the  bridge  of  a  little 
stream  called  the  Kidron,  and  then  climbed  the 
ascent  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Over  the  brook, 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  was  a  little  garden 
of  olive-trees,  called  Gethsemane. 

On  the  way  they  had  continued  the  conver- 
sation of  the  upper  room.  Did  they  remember, 
as  they  went  down,  the  words  of  the  psalm 
about  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ?  Into 
that  dark  valley  they  were  now  descending. 
"  The  time  has  fully  come,"  the  Master  said, 


332  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

"  of  which  I  have  been  telling  you.  The  Phar- 
isees and  Sadducees  will  take  me,  and  mock  me 
and  scourge  me  and  spit  upon  me  and  kill  me. 
And  you,  my  friends,  my  dear  friends,  whom 
I  have  chosen  to  be  with  me,  who  have  stayed 
beside  me  even  when  others  turned  their  backs, 
even  you  will  desert  me.  It  is  written,  ( I  will 
smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the 
flock  shall  be  scattered  abroad.' ':  Then  Peter, 
speaking  first  of  all,  cried,  "  Though  all  men 
shall  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I 
never  be  offended."  To  which  our  Lord  re- 
plied, "  I  tell  thee,  Peter,  that  this  very  night 
before  to-morrow  dawns,  even  in  this  night 
before  the  cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt  deny 
me  thrice."  But  Peter  declared  more  earnestly 
than  before,  "  Lord,  I  am  ready  to  go  with 
thee  both  into  prison  and  to  death.  Even  if 
I  should  die  with  thee,  I  will  not  deny  thee  in 
any  wise."  Likewise  also  said  they  all. 

So  they  came  into  the  garden,  and  he  left 
the  disciples  by  the  gate,  saying,  "  Sit  ye  here, 
while  I  go  and  pray  yonder."  But  he  took 
Peter  and  James  and  John  with  him  into  the 


IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE    333 

deeper  shade  of  the  olives.  The  others  sat  upon 
the  grass  in  the  moonlight,  some  thinking, 
some  sleeping,  some  listening  to  faint  sounds 
as  of  one  in  great  distress  crying  to  God  in 
prayer,  but  the  words  were  lost  in  the  bab- 
bling of  the  running  brook,  or  in  the  rustle 
of  the  wind  in  the  leaves  of  the  trees. 

Peter  and  James  and  John  went  with  the 
Master.  And  he  began  to  be  both  troubled 
and  amazed.  The  more  clearly  he  saw  the 
certainty  of  his  approaching  death,  the  more 
impossible  did  it  appear.  He  was  not  afraid. 
Even  then  he  might  have  escaped  easily.  He 
had  but  to  walk  out  of  the  garden  gate,  and 
on  along  the  road  over  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
past  Bethany,  into  the  country,  and  no  man 
would  harm  him.  If  he  would  but  live  in  peace 
and  quietness,  no  Pharisee  nor  Sadducee 
would  touch  him.  All  that  they  wished  for 
was  that  he  would  be  silent.  He  might  still 
live,  if  he  would  return  to  the  bench  of  the  car- 
penter. But  that  was  utterly  impossible.  He 
had  come,  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  name  of  God, 
to  teach  the  truth  of  God.  That  was  his  whole 


334  WHEN  THE   KING  CAME 

life  :  he  could  not  imagine  himself  living  and 
not  doing  that. 

But  that  he  who  thus  came,  on  such  a  mis- 
sion, with  such  a  message,  should  be  rejected ; 
that  he  whose  heart  was  full  of  love  should  be 
hated ;  that  they  to  whom  he  came  should  kill 
him,  —  this  amazed  him,  with  a  sad  and  dread- 
ful amazement.  And  he  said  to  the  three,  "  My 
soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto  death  : 
tarry  ye  here  and  watch  with  me."  And  he 
went  forward  a  little,  and  fell  upon  the 
ground,  and  prayed  that  if  it  were  possible 
the  hour  might  pass  from  him.  Must  it  be  ? 
Must  this  calamity  come?  To  die  was  little, 
but  thus  to  die  was  terrible  beyond  all  speech 
or  thought.  That  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees 

O 

should  kill  him,  the  very  clergy  of  the  church, 
with  the  approval  of  the  church  people,  —  this 
was  what  broke  his  heart.  If  the  common  sin- 
ners of  the  street  had  hated  him,  he  could 
have  borne  it ;  but  that  the  good  should  hate 
him,  that  men  should  come  out  of  church, 
from  the  act  of  prayer,  and  plan  to  kill  him, — 
this  amazed  him  and  crushed  him  to  the 


IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE    335 

ground.  He  fell  upon  his  face  and  prayed, 
saying,  "  0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me ;  let  me  not  thus  die  by  the 
hands  of  those  whom  I  love  :  nevertheless,  not 
as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

And  he  came  out  of  the  deep  shadow  to 
the  three  disciples,  and  found  them  sleeping, 
and  said  to  Peter,  who  had  made  such  great 
promises,  "  What,  could  ye  not  watch  with  me 
one  hour  ?  "  And  then  he  added,  seeing  that 
they  were  very  tired,  "  The  spirit,  indeed,  is 
willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak."  Again  he  went 
back  into  the  darkness,  and  being  in  an  agony, 
he  prayed  more  earnestly,  saying,  "  0  my 
Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from 
me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  And 
his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood 
falling  down  to  the  ground.  And  when  he 
rose  up  from  prayer,  and  was  come  unto  his 
disciples,  he  found  them  again  asleep,  partly 
for  weariness  and  partly  for  sorrow.  Then, 
going  back  he  prayed  a  third  time,  saying  the 
same  words  :  and  the  third  time,  when  he  went 
for  sympathy  to  the  disciples,  he  found  them 


336  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

again  asleep.  And  when  they  waked  at  the 
sound  of  his  steps,  and  were  ashamed  and 
sorry,  he  said,  "  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your 
rest." 

But  now  there  was  a  noise  as  of  hurrying 
feet  in  the  road  which  led  from  the  city. 
Torches  were  seen  flickering  between  the  trees 
by  the  bridge  across  the  Kidron.  Jesus  knew 
well  what  it  all  meant.  "  It  is  enough,"  he 
cried,  waking  the  three,  and  calling  to  the 
others.  "  The  hour  is  come.  Behold,  the  Son 
of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners. 
Rise  up,  let  us  go  to  meet  them ;  lo,  he  that 
betrayeth  me  is  at  hand." 

Judas  had  gone  from  the  last  supper  to  find 
the  men  to  whom  he  had  sold  his  soul.  He 
may  have  said,  "  The  prophet  is  in  such  and 
such  a  house,  in  the  upper  room,  with  only 
the  group  of  his  apostles  with  him.  Send  a 
band  with  me,  and  we  may  take  him  before  he 
goes."  If  so,  they  came  too  late,  finding  the 
place  empty.  But  the  next  step  was  sure. 
"He  will  be  found,  then,  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane."  For  with  this  quiet  spot  the 


IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE    337 

apostles  were  familiar.  Many  times  they  had 
resorted  thither.  Judas  knew  every  tree,  and 
could  find  his  way  from  corner  to  corner,  even 
in  the  dim  light  of  the  moon.  There  he  had 
lain  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  in  the  cool  of 
the  evening,  close  by  the  Master,  and  had 
listened  as  he  talked.  Judas  knew  it  well.  To 
the  garden,  accordingly,  he  brought  his  band 
of  servants  from  the  high  priest's  house,  and 
now  they  came  with  lanterns  and  torches  and 
weapons.  And  the  traitor  had  given  them  a 
sign,  saying,  "  Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  that 
same  is  he ;  take  him,  and  lead  him  away 
safely."  And  as  soon  as  he  was  come,  he  went 
straightway  to  Jesus,  as  if  he  were  still  one 
of  the  twelve  friends,  saying,  "Master,  Mas- 
ter," and  kissed  him. 

Then  they  laid  their  hands  on  Jesus,  and 
took  him.  And  Peter,  quick  and  impulsive 
now  as  always,  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
drew  a  sword  which  he  had  buckled  to  his 
side,  and  struck  the  nearest  man,  cutting  off 
his  ear.  But  the  resistance  went  no  further. 
One  of  the  other  apostles  had  a  sword,  but  he 


338  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

did  not  draw  it.  Indeed,  Jesus  told  Peter  to 
put  his  sword  into  its  sheath.  "  Do  you  not 
know,"  he  said,  "  that  if  I  were  to  ask  my 
Father,  he  would  send  me  instantly  an  army 
of  angels  ?  But  it  may  not  be."  And,  hearing 
that,  all  the  apostles — first  Peter,  and  then 
James  and  John  and  Thomas  and  the  others 
—  forsook  him  and  fled.  Away  they  went, 
running  in  dreadful  haste  this  way  and  that 
among  the  trees  of  the  garden.  And  Jesus 
was  left  alone. 

But  as  they  who  had  arrested  Jesus  led  him 
out  of  the  gate,  a  single  strange  figure  came 
in  sight.  A  young  man,  evidently  just  from 
bed,  came  following  after,  having  a  sheet 
wrapped  about  him.  Some  of  the  band  turned 
back  and  drove  him  away  and  chased  him, 
catching  the  sheet  but  not  succeeding  in  catch- 
ing him.  Out  he  went  into  the  darkness  and 
was  lost  to  sight.  It  is  in  St.  Mark's  Gospel 
that  this  white-gowned  person  appears,  and 
some  have  thought  that  he  was  none  other 
than  St.  Mark  himself.  We  know  that  Mark 
was  then  a  lad  living  in  Jerusalem,  and  that 


IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE    339 

a  few  months  later  his  mother's  house  was  the 
meeting-place  of  the  disciples.  It  may  be  that 
the  upper  room  was  in  that  house,  and  that 
Mark,  awakened  by  Judas  and  his  searching 
party,  had  hurried,  just  as  he  was,  to  warn  our 
Lord  at  Gethsemane,  and  had  arrived  in  time 
to  hear  how  Jesus  prayed  while  the  disciples 
slept,  and  to  see  the  great  drops  as  of  blood 
upon  his  forehead. 


VI 
CHRIST  BEFORE  CAIAPHAS 

IT  was  past  midnight,  but  the  moon  lighted 
the  way.  They  that  had  laid  hold  on  Jesus 
led  him  over  the  Kidron  bridge,  beneath  which 
the  little  river  ran  like  a  stream  of  silver.  Be- 
fore them,  at  the  summit  of  the  hill,  rose  the 
walls  of  the  city  and  the  open  gate.  At  first, 
as  they  entered,  the  people  seemed  to  be  asleep. 
The  streets  were  empty  and  all  the  windows 
dark ;  only  a  sentry  was  pacing  back  and  forth 
along  the  castle  wall.  But  presently  there  was 
a  sound  of  running  feet.  The  palace  of  the 
high  priest  was  all  alight,  and  out  of  the  en- 
trance servants  were  running  down  this  street 
and  that,  knocking  on  the  doors  of  great 
houses ;  and  men  looked  out  and  said,  "  What 
is  the  matter?"  and  the  servants  answered, 
"  He  is  taken  ;  you  know  who.  There  is  to  be 
a  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin  immediately,  that 
he  may  be  put  on  trial." 


CHRIST  BEFORE  CAIAPHAS           341 

The  Jewish  people  had  two  rulers.  One  was 
Pilate,  the  Roman  governor,  who  was  the  head 
of  the  state ;  the  other  was  Caiaphas,  the  high 
priest,  who  was  the  head  of  the  church.  The 
high  priest  could  do  nothing  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  standing  committee,  the  Sanhedrin. 
The  members  of  this  committee  were,  therefore, 
summoned  out  of  their  sleep.  While  our  Lord 
was  being  led  along  in  the  midst  of  the  police 
and  the  crowd,  they  were  hastily  putting  on 
their  clothes,  and  making  their  way  to  the 
place  of  meeting.  Jesus  was  brought  in,  and 
the  trial  began. 

The  high  priest  asked  Jesus  of  his  disciples 
and  of  his  doctrine.  He  answered,  "  I  spake 
openly  to  the  world  :  I  ever  taught  in  the  syn- 
agogue, and  in  the  temple,  whither  the  Jews 
always  resort,  and  in  secret  have  I  said  nothing. 
Why  askest  thou  me  ?  ask  them  which  heard 
me  what  I  have  said  unto  them  :  behold,  they 
know  what  I  said."  And  as  he  finished  speak- 
ing, an  attendant,  one  of  the  lower  officers  of 
the  court,  struck  him  in  the  face  with  the 
palm  of  his  hand.  The  servant,  seeing  no 


342  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

doubt  how  all  was  going,  and  thinking  to  gain 
favor  with  his  master,  struck  the  King,  say- 
ing, "  Answerest  thou  the  high  priest  so  ?  " 
Our  Lord  turned  and  said  quietly,  "  If  I  have 
spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil ;  but  if 
well,  why  smitest  thou  me  ? "  But  the  high 
priest  did  not  rebuke  the  brutal  servant. 

Instead  of  that,  the  priests  and  elders,  and  all 
the  council,  sought  false  witness  against  Jesus, 
to  put  him  to  death.  -O^hey  were  determined 
to  kill  him,  but  they  wished  to  kill  him  legally. 
They  knew  that  many  of  the  people  believed 
him  to  be  a  prophet.  They  feared  that  they 
would  be  called  to  account  for  what  they  did. 
So  they  were  careful  to  observe  the  form  of 
lawv^  There  must  be  witnesses,  two  at  least,  to 
testify  against  a  criminal.  If  they  could  fii^d 
no  true  ones,  false  witnesses  would  do  as  welL^ 

So  the  servants  hurried  again  into  the  night 
to  bring  in  witnesses.  Now  one  day,  as  he 
taught  in  the  temple,  Jesus  had  said  something 
which  nobody  quite  understood.  Whether 
the  words  themselves  were  so  mysterious,  or 
whether  there  was  so  much  confusion  that 


CHRIST  BEFORE   CAIAPHAS          343 

they  were  not  heard  distinctly,  we  do  not  know. 
Anyhow,  they  were  reported  to  the  authorities, 
in  one  way  and  another,  and  they  were  now 
brought  up  against  him.  Two  false  witnesses 
came  and  said  :  "  This  fellow  said,  ( I  am  able 
to  destroy  the  temple  of  God,  and  to  build  it 
in  three  days."  But  they  did  not  agree. 
They  could  not  remember  exactly  what  he  said. 
Even  the  apostles  did  not  understand  it,  though 
long  after,  thinking  it  over,  they  concluded 
that  he  must  have  spoken  of  the  temple  of  his 
body.  But  nobody  knows.  He  had  said  some- 
thing, however,  about  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  :  that  was  plain.  He  had  spoken,  they 
believed,  against  that  holy  place  in  whose  ser- 
vice the  Sadducees  were  engaged.  And  so 
speaking,  he  had  spoken  against  the  Sad- 
ducees. There  they  sat,  then,  in  the  council, 
ready  to  vote  against  him. 

But  the  false  witnesses  had  not  agreed  to- 
gether. Another  evidence  must  be  found 
against  him  in  order  to  convict  him  legally.  So 
the  high  priest,  clad  in  his  robes  of  office,  stood 
up  solemnly  in  the  midst,  and  asked  Jesus, 


344  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

saying,  "  Answerest  thou  nothing  ?  what  is  it 
which  these  witness  against  thee?"  But  he 
held  his  peace,  and  answered  nothing.  And  the 
high  priest  said  unto  him,  "  I  adjure  thee,  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 
be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God."  Thus  the  mo- 
ment came  which  our  Lord  had  long  awaited. 
"  Do  not  tell,"  he  said  to  Peter,  on  the  day  of 
the  great  recognition.  "  Do  not  tell,"  he  said 
to  the  three,  as  they  came  down  from  the  moun- 
tain of  the  transfiguration.  He  himself  would 
declare  the  great  truth  in  his  own  time.  Thus 
he  stood  looking  into  the  faces  of  the  leaders 
of  the  people.  "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  am.  I  am  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  By  and  by  you  shall 
see  me  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power  and 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven." 

Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes ;  he 
grasped  his  flowing  gown  of  linen  and  tore 
it  from  top  to  bottom,  as  was  then  the  way  of 
men  in  great  excitement.  "  He  hath  spoken 
blasphemy,"  he  cried.  "  He  claims  to  be  the 
Christ,  the  Messiah  promised  of  the  prophets, 
the  King  of  Glory,  the  Son  of  God.  What  fur- 


CHRIST   BEFORE  CAIAPHAS          345 

ther  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ?  Behold,  now 
ye  have  heard  his  blasphemy.  What  think  ye  ?  " 
Our  Lord's  mysterious  words  about  the  temple 
had  determined  the  Sadducees  to  vote  against 
him  :  this  declaration  decided  the  Pharisees. 
(it  was  as  they  had  suspected,  then  ;  this  Naza- 
reth carpenter,  who  had  despised  their  cus- 
toms, claimed  to  be  the  Christ.  But,  indeed, 
they  were  all  against  him.  The  trial  was  no 
trial.  Even  as  they  came  out  of  their  houses 
their  minds  were  made  up.  "  What  think  ye  ?" 
They;  answered  and  said,  "  He  is  guilty  of 
death?' 

Thus  it  all  ended.  He  who  had  come  from 
heaven,  in  whom  God  dwelt  and  he  in  God,  of 
whom  the  Father  of  all  had  said,  "  This  is 
my  beloved  Son,"  the  King  of  Glory,  was 
condemned  to  death.  /He  told  them  who  he 
was  :  I  am  your  King,  —  and  they  cried  out 
against  him.  The  high  priest  rejected  him.  So 
did  the  lesser  priests,  and  the  preachers  of 
the  synagogue,  and  the  whole  church.  The 
church  of  God  resolved  to  kill  the  Son  of 


346  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

The  church,  however,  had  no  power  to  put 
any  man  to  death.  That  belonged  to  the  state. 
1\paiaphas  had  condemned  Jesus,  but  in  order 
that  the  false  Christ,  as  he  thought,  should  be 
killed,  he  must  be  given  over  into  the  hands  of 
Pilate.^t  was  as  yet  too  early  in  the  morning  to 
see  Pilate.  The  moon  had  gone  down,  but  the 
sun  had  not  yet  risen.  They  must  wait.  Jesus 
was,  therefore,  given  into  the  charge  of  the  ser- 
vants of  the  palace  till  the  day  should  dawift» 
The  scribes  and  elders  returned  to  their  homes. 
Jesus,  with  his  hands  tied,  stood  amidst  the 
servants.  And  the  servants,  seeing  in  him  one 
whom  their  masters  had  condemned  to  death, 
mocked  him.  They  struck  him  first  on  one  cheek, 
then  on  the  other,  and  spat  in  his  face.  They 
put  a  cloth  over  his  eyes  to  blindfold  him,  and 
each,  in  turn,  dancing  about  him  beat  him,  cry- 
ing with  each  blow,  "  Thou  prophet,  prophesy 
now,  who  is  he  that  smote  thee  ?  " 

In  the  mean  time  two  of  the  fleeing  disciples, 
seeing  that  nobody  was  following  them,  had 
turned  back.  Keeping  in  the  shadow  of  the 
walls  and  houses,  they  approached  the  palace 


CHRIST  BEFORE  CAIAPHAS          347 

of  the  high  priest,  and  at  last,  plucking  up 
courage,  entered.  The  first  to  go  in  was 
John  ;  and  finding  that  no  attention  was  given 
to  him,  he  went  out  and  brought  in  Peter. 
The  palace  was  built  about  an  open  court,  into 
which  the  rooms  opened.  Across  this  court 
were  clattering  little  breathless  groups  of  men, 
—  belated  members  of  the  council,  servants 
going  on  hasty  errands.  In  a  hall  whose  lights 
shone  out  into  the  court  Christ  was  standing 
before  Caiaphas.  It  was  cold  in  the  early  spring 
morning,  and  the  servants  had  built  a  char- 
coal fire  on  the  stone  pavement,  and  stood 
about  it  warming  themselves.  And  Peter 
joined  them,  holding  out  his  cold  hand  to  the 
blaze.  ]But  Peter,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was 
a  talkative  person,  and  now  in  his  great  excite- 
ment he  could  not  keep  silent.  It  was  plain 
by  the  look  of  ^him  that  he  was  a  stranger 
from  the  country.-  His  clothes  hinted  that  and 
his  voice  proved  it ;  for  the  fishermen  of  Gali- 
lee had  a  way  of  speaking  which  people  in 
Jerusalem  thought  to  be  queer.  They  did  not 
pronounce  their  words  as  the  city  people  did. 


348  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

No  sooner,  then,  had  Peter  opened  his  mouth 
than  the  man  to  whom  he  spoke  knew  that  he 
came  from  Galilee. 

The  first  to  address  Peter  was  a  maid-servant, 
who  attended  the  door.  She  said,  at  once,  as 
he  came  in,  "  Art  not  thou  also  one  of  this 
man's  disciples?"  And  Peter,  already  tired 
from  lack  of  sleep,  nervous  and  afraid,  and  now 
taken  by  surprise,  said,  "  I  am  not."  John  and 
he  had  come  to  see  the  end,  —  the  end  of  all 
their  hopes.  There  were  no  longer  any  disci- 
ples. That  beautiful  brotherhood  had  been 
broken  up.  The  Master  was  on  trial  for  his 
life,  and  they  who  had  followed  him  would  see 
him  no  more.  So  Peter  spoke  out  of  the  bit- 
terness of  his  heart.  He  had  been  his  disciple, 
but  he  was  such  no  longer. 

Peter  came  in,  then,  and  stood  by  the  fire, 
getting  what  news  he  could  about  the  proceed- 
ings in  the  palace,  but  looking  so  miserable 
that  another  maid-servant  gazed  curiously  at 
him  and  said,  "  And  thou  also  wast  with  Jesus 
of  Nazareth."  But  he  denied  a  second  time, 
saying,  "  I  know  not  what  you  say ;  "  that  is, 


CHRIST  BEFORE   CAIAPHAS          349 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  are  talking  about." 
And  he  went  out  into  the  porch,  into  the  pas- 
sage which  led  from  the  court  into  the  street. 
As  he  stood  by  the  gate  a  first  faint  streak 
of  light  began  to  appear  in  the  east,  and  a 
rooster  in  some  neighboring  barnyard  sounded 
the  signal  of  approaching  day :  the  cock 
crew. 

What  had  the  Lord  said  about  the  crowing 
of  the  cock?  Peter  started  back,  but  as  he 
did  so  the  woman  at  the  gate  called  to  the  men 
at  the  fire.  "  See  this  fellow,"  she  cried ;  "  is 
he  not  one  of  them  ?  "  "  Yes,"  they  answered, 
looking  sharply  at  him,  "he  is  a  Galilean  ;  his 
speech  shows  that."  And  one  of  them,  a  kins- 
man of  the  man  whose  ear  Peter  cut  off,  started 
up  and  said,  "  Yes,  yes,  I  saw  him  in  the  gar- 
den with  him."  And  Peter  began  to  call  even 
Heaven  to  witness  that  he  was  no  disciple  of 
the  Prophet.  "I  do  not  even  know  this  man 
of  whom  ye  speak."  And  again  the  cock 
crew. 

And  at  that  moment  Jesus  was  led  forth, 
and,  hearing  Peter  say  these  words,  the  Lord 


350  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

turned  and  looked  upon  him.  And  Peter  re- 
membered the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  he  had 
said  unto  him,  "  Before  the  cock  crow  twice 
thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice."  And  he  went  out 
and  wept  bitterly. 


VII 
CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE 

AT  last  the  day  came  which  we  call  Good 
Friday,  and  early  in  the  morning  the  officers 
of  the  Sanhedrin  took  Jesus  to  deliver  him  to 
Pilate. 

They  had  already  been  to  prayers  in  the 
temple.  They  had  bowed  down  before  God, 
asking  him  to  bless  them.  They  came  from 
the  trial  before  Caiaphas  on  their  way  to  the 
trial  before  Pilate,  and  the  service  was  a  quiet 
interval  between.  There  they  prayed  before 
the  altar,  while  in  the  priest's  house  the  Lord 
of  Life  was  being  mocked  and  spat  upon. 
And  they  were  not  bad  men  :  that,  as  I  have 
said,  was  the  strangest  part  of  it.<^They  were 
quite  sure  that  they  were  doing  right,  They 
said  their  prayers  with  as  clear  a  conscience  as 
any  inquisitor  before  he  burned  his  neigh- 
bor at  the  staker^They  acted  as  they  did,  not 
because  their  hearts^were  full  of  sin,  J)ut  be- 
cause their  minds  were  full  of  prejudice.  NThey 


352  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

considered  themselves  good  churchmen ;  they 
stood  for  the  old  way  of  the  church.  And 
he  was  not  a  good  churchman :  so  they  said. 
That  was  the  heart  of  the  whole  matter.  That 
is  why  they  hated  him  and  killed  him.  They 
were  afraid  that  the  Son  of  God  would  do 
harm  to  the  church. 

But  there  was  an  unpleasant  interruption  in 
the  midst  of  that  early  service.  Suddenly,  as 
they  were  saying  their  prayers,  a  man  came  in 
with  a  wild,  excited  voice,  having  his  hands 
full  of  silver  pieces.  "  I  have  sinned,"  he  cried, 
"  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  hlood." 
In  he  came  out  of.  a  sleepless  night,  filled  with 
bitter  remorse.  "O udas  had  done  a  deed  which 
has  made  his  name  despised  and  hated.  He 
had  betrayed  his  friend.  But  there  was  good 
in  him,  in  spite  of  that.  Nobody  knows  why 
he  did  it.  The  little  money  that  he  got  for  it 
seems  an  insufficient  reason.  Anyhow,  he  was 
sorry  for  iO  However  f ull  his  heart  may  have 
been  of  evil  when  Satan  entered  into  him,  it 
was  full  now  of  the  old  love.  He  came  to  make 
a  desperate  appeal.  "  Let  him  go,"  he  asked. 


CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE  353 

"  He  has  done  nothing  amiss,  I  have  betrayed 
the  innocent  blood."  "What  is  that  to  us?" 
said  the  priests  and  elders,  scowling  at  him. 
"  See  thou  to  that ! "  IsgThen  Judas  raised  his 
hands  and  flung  the  silver  from  him.  Away 
flew  the  thirty  pieces,  ringing  and  sliding  over 
the  temple  floor.  And  the  traitor  went  and 
hanged  himself^ 

The  elders  and  scribes  and  the  whole  coun- 
cil carried  Jesus  bound  to  Pilate.  But  Pilate 
was  a  Roman  and  a  heathen.  When  he 
thought  of  God,  —  which  was  not  very  often, 
—  he  thought  of  him  as  Jupiter,  not  as  Jeho- 
vah ;  and  when  he  said  his  prayers  he  sprinkled 
grains  of  incense  on  burning  coals  before  an 
idol.  The  scribes  felt  that  God  would  not  like 
them  if  they  touched  their  feet  to  Pilate's  floor. 
So  they  stood  calling  for  Pilate,  with  a  crowd 
gathering  out  of  the  neighboring  streets,  and 
the  news  spreading  about  the  town  that  the 
Prophet  had  been  seized  at  last ;  he  had  been 
seized  and  had  made  no  resistance.  One  cried, 
"He  said  that  he  could  bring  down  twelve 
regiments  of  angels."  "  Yes,"  answered  an- 


354  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

other,  "  but  he  did  not  do  it."  Thus  the  en- 
thusiasm of  Sunday  and  Monday,  such  as  it 
•was,  passed  away.  Some  there  were  who  cared, 
but  not  many,  and  they  were  mostly  in  hiding. 
The  crowd  did  not  care. 

Dilate  heard  their  voices  as  he  sat  at  break- 
fast, and  went  out.  "  What  accusation,"  said 
he,  "  bring  ye  against  this  man?  '/^  They  said, 
"  He  claims  to  be  the  King,  the  King  of  the 
Jews."  That  was,  indeed,  a  serious  accusation, 
and  a  true  one.  They  meant  it  for  a  charge 
of  treason.  Ca3sar  at  Rome  was  the  King  of 
the  Jews ;  the  scribes  wished  Pilate  to  believe 
that  our  Lord  was  the  leader  of  a  rebellion,  that 
he  was  planning  a  revolution  against  Rome. 
It  was  easy  to  believe  that.  The  Jews  hated 
to  be  under  the  rule  of  the  Romans,  and  many 
times  rebelled,  sometimes  for  a  day  in  a  single 
city,  sometimes  in  a  fierce  and  wide  revolt.  At 
that  moment  there  was  lying  in  Pilate's  prison 
a  man  named  Barabbas,  who  had  led  a  riot 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  in  which  men  had 
lost  their  lives.  The  charge,  then,  was  a  likely 
one. 


CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE  355 

But  Pilate  did  not  believe  it.  He  already 
knew  something  about  Jesus.  He  knew  that 
the  priests  had  delivered  him  for  envy,  because 
they  feared  that  he  would  influence  the  peo- 
ple against  them.  He  knew  that  the  King  of 
the  Jews  had  undertaken  no  quarrel  against 
Rome.  So  he  took  Jesus  into  his  palace,  leav- 
ing the  council  and  the  crowd  outside,  and 
said,  "  Art  thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ? " 
Jesus  answered,  "  Why  do  you  ask  ?  Do  you 
say  this  of  yourself,  or  did  others  tell  it  of 
me  ?  "  Pilate  replied,  "  Am  I  a  Jew  ?  Thine 
own  nation  and  the  chief  priests  have  deliv- 
ered thee  unto  me  :  what  hast  thou  done  ? " 
Jesus  said,  "  I  am  indeed  a  king,  but  not  of 
an  earthly  kingdom.  In  my  kingdom  there  is 
neither  crown  nor  army.  I  was  born  and  came 
into  the  world  that  I  should  bear  witness  to 
the  truth.  The  kingdom  of  God  which  I 
preach  is  the  kingdom  of  the  truth."  Pilate 
did  not  understand.  "  What  is  truth  ?  "  he 
said.  But  it  was  plain  that  here  was  no  cause 
for  the  interference  of  a  Roman  governor. 
He  went  out  to  the  multitude  before  the  pal- 


356  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

ace  door,  and  said,  "I  find  no  fault  in  him 
at  all." 

Then  was  the  whole  council  filled  with 
anger  and  great  dread.  <(They  had  delivered 
Jesus  to  Pilate,  and  Pilate  was  about  to  set 
him  freeNThus  the  end  would  be  worse  than 
the  beginning.  They  cried  out  with  loud 
voices,  making  all  manner  of  charges  against 
him.  One  said,  "  He  forbids  the  people  to  pay 
taxes ; "  and  another,  "  He  has  set  the  whole 
land  in  commotion,  from  Galilee  to  Judea." 
"  If  he  is  a  Galilean,"  said  the  governor,  "  he 
belongs  to  Herod,"  —  the  Herod  who  had  be- 
headed John  the  Baptist.  Pilate  tried,  accord- 
ingly, to  transfer  the  case  to  Herod,  but  in 
vain.  Still  the  crowd,  continuously  increasing, 
besieged  the  door. 

^Pilate  then  thought  of  Barabbas.  "Here,"  he 
said  to  the  people,  "  is  another  man  under  a  like 
accusation.  He,  too,  has  taken  part  in  an  in- 
surrection, an  evil  part.  You  have  your  choice, 
now,  for  I  will  follow  the  old  custom  and  re- 
lease a  prisoner  at  the  Passover.  Which  will 
you  choose,  Jesus  or  Barabbas  ?^  It  seemed 


CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE  357 

for  a  moment  that  the  multitude  would  ask 
for  the  release  of  Jesus.  Why  should  they 
not  ?  He  had  gone  about  among  them  doing 
good,  healing  the  sick,  bringing  cheer  to  the 
poor,  making  himself  one  of  the  people,  and 
never  seeking  his  own  gain.  And  the  people 
had  heard  him  gladly.  ^But  the  city  is  differ- 
ent from  the  country,  and  a  crowd  is  different 
from  the  men  who  comprise  it.  A  crowd  will 
do  what  hardly  a  man  in  it  would  be  willing 
to  do  alone.  Moreover,  the  priests  and  the 
scribes,  the  influential  people,  persuaded  the 
crow<p*  What  was  Reuben  to  say,  coming  from 
the  farm,  or  Levi,  from  the  fishing  fleet,  in 
answer  to  these  great  men. 

So  the  crowd  obeyed  the  rulers,  and  when 
Pilate  said,  "  Shall  it  be  Jesus  or  Barabbas  ?  " 
they  cried  with  a  great  voice,  "Barabbas!" 
Pilate  said,  "  What  will  ye  then  that  I  shall 
do  unto  him  whom  ye  call  the  King  of  the 
Jews?  "  And  they  cried  out  again,  "  Crucify 
him."  Then  said  Pilate  unto  them,  "  Why, 
what  evil  hath  he  done  ?  "  But  they  had  no 
other  answer.  They  cried  out  the  more  exceed- 


358 

ingly,  "  Crucify  him."  And  with  the  other 
voices  some  were  heard  which  said,  "  If  thou 
let  this  man  go  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend ; 
whosoever  maketh  himself  a  king  speaketh 
against  Caesar."  And  that  word  settled  Pilate's 
mind.  He  was  himself  in  peril,  then.  They 
would  carry  a  report  to  Rome,  and  there  were 
enemies  who  were  ready  to  make  the  most  of  it. 

Even  as  he  sat,  however,  on  the  judgment 
seat,  ready  to  deliver  to  the  death  of  the  cross 
a  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  guiltless  of  any 
wrong,  his  wife  sent  him  a  message.  "  Do 
nothing,"  she  said,  "  against  that  just  man.  All 
night  I  dreamed  about  him,  dreadful  dreams." 
But  it  was  too  late.,^ilate  did  indeed  take  a 
basin  of  water,  and  wash  his  hands  before  the 
multitude  saying,  "  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood 
of  this  just  person  :  see  ye  to  it/x^But  the  crowd 
answered,  "  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our 
children."  And  Barabbas  was  released. 

Jesus  was  then  given  over  to  the  soldiers, 
as  was  the  way  with  a  condemned  prisoner, 
that  they  might  scourge  him.  And  the  sol- 
diers took  him  into  the  common  hall,  and  gath- 


CHRIST  BEFORE  PILATE  359 

ered  the  whole  band  together,  and  they  took 
off  his  own  clothes,  and  put  a  purple  robe 
upon  him,  some  ragged  and  tarnished  cast-off 
finery ;  and  they  made  a  crown  of  thorns  and 
put  it  on  his  head,  and  into  his  tied  hands 
they  thrust  a  reed  for  a  sceptre,  and  they  pre- 
tended to  do  homage  to  him  as  a  king,  bow- 
ing down  on  their  knees  before  him  each  in 
order,  saluting  him,  "  Hail,  King  of  the  Jews !  " 
then  spitting  in  his  face,  and  striking  him 
with  the  reed. 

Even  after  this  scourging  and  mocking, 
Pilate  made  one  more  effort  to  release  his 
prisoner.  He  appealed  to  the  pity  of  the  mul- 
titude. The  king  was  led  before  his  people, 
with  the  mock  crown  on  his  head  and  the 
mock  sceptre  in  his  hand,  and  the  ragged  robe 
of  royal  purple  over  his  shoulders  ;  and  Pilate 
said,  "  Behold,  I  bring  him  forth  to  you,  that 
ye  may  know  that  I  find  no  fault  in  him. 
Look  at  him.  Behold  the  man  !  "  But  when 
they  saw  him  there  was  no  pity  in  their  hearts. 
They  cried  the  same  fierce  cry,  "  Crucify  him, 
crucify  him."  "  What !  "  said  Pilate,  "  shall  I 


360  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

crucify  your  king?"  And  they  all  answered, 
"  We  have  no  king  but  Caesar.'*  Thus  the 
last  word  was  spoken.  Our  Lord's  own  clothes 
were  put  again  upon  him,  and  he  was  led  away 
to  be  crucified. 


vm 

CKUCIFIED,  DEAD,  AND  BURIED. 

THE  death  sentence  was  pronounced  a  little 
before  nine  o'clock.  Since  there  was  danger 
of  disturbance  when  the  pilgrims  from  Gali- 
lee should  hear  that  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth 
was  to  be  crucified,  it  was  decided  to  proceed 
without  delay.  Our  Lord's  clothes  having 
been  put  again  upon  his  back,  covering  the 
wounds  made  by  the  scourge,  he  was  led  out 
on  the  way  to  the  place  of  execution. 

Pilate's  soldiers  marched  before  and  behind 
him.  CTwo  thieves  who  had  been  brought  out 
of  prison,  having  a  like  sentence,  went  the 
one  on  the  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the 
leftN  And  a  crowd  followed,  made  up  partly 
of  clergymen,  partly  of  pitying  women,  and 
partly  of  idlers  from  the  corners  of  the  streets. 
Afar  off  came  a  few  friends,  the  ipostle  John, 
and  his  mother,  —  who,  as  you  remember,  was 
our  Lord's  aunt,  —  and  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
another  Mary,  mother  of  James  the  Little, 


362  WHEN  THE  KING   CAME 

and  with  her  the  mother  of  our  Lord  him- 
self. 

Thus  the  forlorn  procession  passed  along 
the  streets,  and  out  of  the  gate  of  the  city  to 
the  place  of  execution.  Our  Lord,  like  the 
two  thieves,  carried  his  cross  upon  his  back. 
One  of  the  soldiers  had  a  hammer  and  some 
stout  nails.  Another  who  walked  in  front  had 
a  board  which  bore  an  inscription.  The  board 
was  to  be  nailed  over  our  Lord's  head  upon 
the  cross.  "  The  King  of  the  Jews,"  it  said, 
showing  who  he  was  and  for  what  crime  he 
suffered:  —  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of 
the  Jews."  The  priests  had  entreated  Pilate 
to  change  it,  so  that  it  should  read,  "  I  am  the 
King  of  the  Jews,"  meaning  that  this  was  a 
false  claim  which  he  made.  But  Pilate  would 
not  change  a  word. 

The  cross  was  heavy  and  our  Lord  was 
very  weary.  All  night  he  had  had  no  sleep ; 
since  the  supper  in  the  upper  room  he  had 
eaten  nothing.  And  he  had  suffered  much ; 
the  agony  in  the  garden,  the  pain  of  betrayal 
by  Judas  and  of  denial  by  Peter,  the  shame 


CRUCIFIED,  DEAD,  AND  BURIED      363 

of  condemnation  by  Caiaphas  and  by  Pilate, 
the  distress  o£  the  scourging ;  besides,  he  had 
been  on  his  feet  since  midnight.  It  was  too 
much.  He  stumbled  and  fell  beside  the  city 
gate. 

Now  at  that  moment  there  was  coming  in 
out  of  the  country  a  strong-armed  person 
named  Simon  of  Gyrene. ^Simon  was  the  father 
of  two  sons  who  were  afterwards  numbered 
among  the  disciples.,-  They  may  have  been 
with  him  that  morning ;  two  boys,  one  named 
Alexander  and  one  named  Rufus,  each  hold- 
ing a  hand.  The  soldiers  stopped  this  country- 
man, and  taking  the  cross  from  the  shoulders 
of  our  Lord  put  it  on  the  broad  shoulders  of 
Simon,  and  the  procession  moved  again ;  the 
little  boys,  if  they  were  there,  coming  on  be- 
hind their  father,  very  scared  and  silent. 

The  women  bewailed  and  lamented,  seeing 
that  our  Lord  could  not  carry  the  cross.  But 
he  turned  to  them  and  said,  "  Daughters  of 
Jerusalem,  do  not  weep  for  me.  Weep  for 
yourselves  and  for  your  children,  for  the  city 
which  thus  crucifies  the  innocent  shall  be 


364  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

surely  punished."  Indeed,  the  day  came  when 
the  Romans  set  up  hundreds  of  crosses  along 
that  same  road,  and  on  them  crucified  the 
chief  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  city,  as 
our  Lord  had  said,  was  laid  level  with  the 
ground. 

At  last  they  came  to  the  hill  called  Gol- 
gotha. The  crosses  were  laid  upon  the  ground. 
They  who  were  to  be  crucified  were  fastened 
to  them  by  nails  driven  through  the  hands 
and  through  the  feet/CThe  crosses  were  lifted 
up,  and  thrust  heavily  into  the  earth,  into 
holes  dug  to  receive  them.  All  this  time  our 
Lord  had  said  no  word.  No  cry  had  come 
from  his  lips  when  the  nails  pierced  his  hands 
and  his  feet.  Now  he  spoke,  praying  for  those 
who  had  done  this  thing :  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.'\ 

An  opiate  was  offered  him,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom in  crucifixion,  to  deaden  the  pain,  wine 
mingled  with  myrrh ;  but  when  he  had  tasted 
it  and  knew  what  it  was,  he  would  not  drink 
it.  He  would  meet  death  with  a  clear  mind. 
Then  the  soldiers,  when  they  had  crucified 


CRUCIFIED,  DEAD,   AND  BURIED      365 

Jesus,  took  his  garments,  and  made  four  parts, 
to  every  soldier  a  part;  for  the  soldiers  had 
the  clothes  of  those  who  were  crucified.  But 
his  coat  was  without  seam,  woven  from  the 
top  throughout.  They  said,  therefore,  among 
themselves,  "  Let  us  not  tear  it,  but  cast  lots 
for  it,  whose  it  shall  be."  So  they  cast  lots. 
And  the  rulers  derided  him,  saying,  "He 
saved  others;  let  him  save  himself,  if  he 
be  Christ,  the  chosen  of  God."  And  the 
soldiers,  each  with  his  share  of  our  Lord's 
garments  under  his  arm,  cried,  "  If  thou  be 
the  King  of  Israel,  save  thyself."  Even  the 
thieves  joined  in  this  cry  of  derision,  saying, 
"  If  thou  be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us." 
Thus  from  all  sides  came  this  noise  of  ha- 
tred: "He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot 
save.  Let  Christ,  the  King  of  Israel,  descend 
now  from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and 
believe." 

But  one  of  the  thieves  joined  but  faintly 
in  this  uproar,  and  presently  rebuked  the 
other.  "  Dost  not  thou  fear  God,"  he  said, 
"  and  you  in  the  hour  of  death  ?  We,  indeed, 


566  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

are  punished  justly,  for  we  receive  the  due  re- 
ward of  our  deeds ;  but  this  man  hath  done  no- 
thing amiss."  And  he  turned  to  Jesus,  in  the 
face  of  the  soldiers  and  the  deriding  priests, 
and  said,  "  Lord,  remember  me  when  thou 
comest  into  thy  kingdom."  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  "Verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day 
shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." 

Then  our  Lord  saw  his  mother  standing  by 
the  cross,  and  with  her  the  apostle  John,  whom 
he  loved  the  best  of  all.  And  he  said  to  his 
mother,  "  Behold  thy  son ! "  meaning  that  John 
was  now  to  be  a  son  to  her.  And  to  John  he 
said,  "  Behold  thy  mother  !  "  And  from  that 
hour  that  disciple  took  her  unto  his  own 
home. 

So  the  painful  moments  passed,  and  noon- 
day came,  and  black  clouds  rose  up  and  cov- 
ered the  sky  and  hid  the  face  of  the  sun,  as 
if  the  world  itself  were  going  into  mourning 
for  this  death.  And  darkness  deepened  in  the 
soul  of  Jesus.  "  Eloi,  eloi"  he  cried,  "  lama 
sdbachthani  ?  "  The  very  words  have  been  re- 
membered, as  if  his  voice  had  given  them  a 


CRUCIFIED,  DEAD,  AND  BURIED      367 

meaning  which  could  not  be  translated.  "  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 
This  was  the  first  sentence  of  a  psalm  which 
was  written  by  one  who,  thinking  that  God 
had  deserted  him,  found  that  after  all  God 
loved  him,  through  all  his  sufferings,  with  an 
unfailing  love.  They  who  stood  by,  faintly 
hearing  what  he  said,  mistook  the  meaning. 
"Eloi"  sounded  like  « Elias."  "Behold," 
they  said,  "  he  calleth  for  Elijah.  Let  alone ; 
let  us  see  whether  Elijah  will  come  to  take 
him  down."  Even  then,  they  thought,  some 
miracle  might  happen.  There  might  be  a  sud- 
den shining  in  the  black  sky,  and  down  might 
come  the  prophet  of  the  old  time,  riding  in 
his  chariot  of  fire.  And  as  Jesus  said  "I 
thirst,"  they  filled  a  sponge  with  vinegar  and 
put  it  on  a  reed  and  lifted  it  to  his  mouth, 
partly  in  pity,  partly  in  awe.  Jesus  then  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  "  It  is  finished,"  adding  a 
word  of  faith  and  prayer,  "  Father,  into  thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit,"  and  so  died. 

It  was  then  three  o'clock,  and  the  next  day 
was  the  sabbath ;  and  the  sabbath,  according 


368  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

to  their  custom,  began  at  sundown  on  the  day 
before.  The  priests  accordingly  asked  Pilate 
for  leave  to  put  the  thieves  out  of  their  mis- 
ery, so  that  all  the  bodies  might  be  removed 
before  the  holy  day.  And  Pilate  gave  permis- 
sion, ^sfhen  came  the  soldiers  and  brake  the 
legs  of  the  two  thieves  and  killed  them,  but 
Jesus,  they  found,  was  dead  already ;  to  make 
sure,  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced 
his  side\ 


council,  men  of  eminence,  who  had  been  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus  in  secret  for  fear  of  their 
neighbors.  He  was  now  dead,  indeed,  and  it 
was  too  late,  as  it  seemed,  to  do  anything  for 
him;  but  remorse  made  them  bold.  Joseph 
of  Arimathea  went  to  Pilate  and  asked  for 
the  body  of  Jesus.  Nicodemus  brought  myrrh 
and  aloes  to  embalm  it.  They  took  the  body 
from  the  cross,  and  laid  it  in  a  cave  in  Jo- 
seph's garden.  Then,  because  the  hour  was 
late,  leaving  the  embalming  unfinished,  they 
rolled  a  great  stone  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
putting  their  shoulders  to  it,  and  departed. 


CRUCIFIED,  DEAD,  AND   BURIED      369 

When  the  moon  arose  there  remained  only  a 
group  of  soldiers,  placed  on  guard,  pacing  up 
and  down  before  the  tomb  of  him  who  had 
claimed  to  be  the  King  of  Glory  and  the  Son 
of  God. 


IX 

THE  EMPTY  TOMB 

disciples  of  the  dead  prophet  had  one 
consolation.  Nothing  could  rob  them  of  the 
memory  of  their  friend.  All  day  Saturday 
they  thought  of  hmfc  It  was  the  sabbath,  but 
it  is  not  likely  that  they  went  to  church.  How 
could  they  worship  in  the  temple  with  Saddu- 
cees,  or  in  the  synagogue  with  Pharisees,  who 
had  brought  their  Master  to  the  death  upon 
the  cross  ?  Somewhere,  no  doubt,  they  met ; 
perhaps  in  the  upper  room  where  they  had  sat 
with  him  at  the  last  supper.  There  they  prayed 
that  God  would  give  them  comfort  and  under- 
standing ;  there  they  remembered  Him. 

These  men  had  had  an  experience  such  as 
nobody  else  has  had  since  the  world  began : 
they  had  known  a  Perfect  Man.  It  is  true 
that  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  did  not  think 
that  he  was  perfect.  They  criticised  him,  as 
we  have  seen,  and  found  such  faults  in  him 
that  they  desired  to  kill  him.  But  what 


THE  EMPTY  TOMB  371 

seemed  faults  to  them,  seemed  virtues  to  the 
disciples,  and  all  men  since  have  agreed  with 
the  disciples.  Jesus  was  the  one  Perfect  Man 
of  all  time.  In  him  our  human  nature  came 
to  its  highest  excellence.  He  lived  our  com- 
mon life,  and  was  tempted  in  all  things  like 
as  we  are,  yet  he  sinned  not.  The  best  men 
that  ever  lived  have  tried  and  prayed  to  be 
like  him,  and  none  of  them  have  succeeded. 

The  Perfect  Man  died  because  in  order  to 
live  he  must  submit  to  the  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees :  and  he  could  not  do  that.  The  most 
important  thing  in  the  world  is  true  religion, 
because  that  means  the  good  health  of  the 
soul.  God  had  appointed  the  Jews  to  be  the 
teachers  of  true  religion,  but  they  had  fallen 
into  error.  The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were 
teaching  that  which  was  not  true  concerning 
God  and  concerning  man.  Our  Lord  came 
that  he  might  establish  the  kingdom  of  the 
truth ;  that  is,  that  he  might  show  us  how  to 
live  aright.  He  came  to  save  our  souls.  But 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  so  sure  that 
they  themselves  were  right  that  they  put  him 


372  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

to  death.  Thus  he  died  in  the  endeavor  to 
give  us  true  religion.  He  laid  down  his  life 
for  our  sake. 

But  that  was  not  all.  Other  men  have  died 
for  love  of  God  and  man.  He  was  not  like 
other  men.  He  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God.  He  said  mysterious  words  about  him- 
self —  words  which  are  still  mysterious  —  de- 
claring that  he  came  from  heaven,  and  would 
come  again,  and  that  whoever  had  seen  him 
had  seen  the  Father.  God  was  in  him,  he  said, 
and  he  in  God.  In  him  was  fulfilled  the  say- 
ing :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life."  Men  had  asked,  "  Does  God 
care  ?  "  He  who  made  us,  and  put  us  in  this 
world  where  sin  and  pain  abound,  is  he  truly 
concerned  about  us?  does  it  matter  to  him 
that  we  suffer  ?  does  it  matter  to  him  whether 
we  do  right  or  wrong?  does  God  care?" 
There  was  no  answer  to  this  question  in  nature. 
So  God  sent  his  Son  to  answer  it.  The  Son  of 
God  came  to  tell  us  of  the  love  of  God.  He 


THE  EMPTY  TOMB  373 

said  that  God  cares  for  every  one  of  us.  He 
said  that  sin  is  a  very  dreadful  thing,  and  en- 
dangers our  souls  as  disease  endangers  our 
bodies,  and  grieves  God.  He  said  that  God  feels 
towards  sinners  as  the  father  felt  towards  the 
prodigal  son,  and  that  every  sinner  who  is 
truly  sorry  for  his  sin  will  be  forgiven.  And 
all  this  he  showed  by  his  life  and  by  his  death. 
He  by  whom  God  spoke  to  man  went  about 
healing  the  sick  and  comforting  the  sad,  and 
at  last  for  our  sake  died  upon  the  cross. 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a 
man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  Jesus 
in  the  name  of  God  laid  down  his  life  even 
for  his  enemies.  Then  he  said  that  his  body 
would  be  broken  and  his  blood  shed  for  our 
sake,  to  save  us  from  our  sins,  and  that  he 
came  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  the  world, 
and  in  those  words  are  great  meanings  of  his 
death  such  as  even  now  the  wisest  men  do  but 
dimly  understand.  God  was  in  Christ,  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  himself. 

But  was  that  true?   Was  God  in  Christ? 
was  it  indeed  the  most  high  God  who  spoke 


374  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

by  him?  Of  course,  the  Perfect  Man  will  tell 
the  truth.  We  may  believe  what  he  says,  be- 
cause his  life  shows  that  he  is  in  God  and  God 
in  him.  But  even  the  Perfect  Man  may  not 
know  it  all ;  he  may  guess  at  some  of  it.  We 
want  to  be  absolutely  sure.  We  want  to  know 
with  certain  knowledge,  that  this  which  the 
Perfect  Man  says  of  the  love  of  God  is  no 
guess,  but  is  the  truth.  We  are  not  satisfied 
with  the  word  even  of  the  Perfect  Man ;  we 
would  have  the  word  of  God.  But  he  who 
said  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God  died  like  a 
man.  Could  he  be  the  Son  of  God  and  die 
like  that? 

Even  the  men  who  had  been  his  nearest 
friends  could  not  give  a  good  answer  to  that 
question.  They  lay  awake  all  night  Friday  and 
Saturday  thinking  about  it,  and  talked  of  it 
all  day.  They  had  seen  him  die.  They  had 
seen  the  nails  in  his  hands  and  feet,  and  the 
wound  of  the  spear  in  his  side.  He  was  as 
dead  as  the  two  thieves.  Where  were  all  his 
great  words  now  ? 

At  the  time  when  our   Lord  was  buried, 


THE  EMPTY  TOMB  375 

certain  women  had  stood  by  to  see  where 
he  was  laid.  Two  of  them  were  mothers  of 
apostles,  —  Salome,  the  mother  of  James  and 
John,  and  Mary,  the  mother  of  James  the 
Little ;  two  had  been  grievously  sick  and  our 
Lord  had  healed  them,  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
Joanna,  the  wife  of  Herod's  steward.  There 
had  been  no  time  on  Friday  to  embalm  the 
body.  It  had  been  wrapped  in  linen,  and 
myrrh  and  aloes  had  been  placed  about  it ; 
but  then  the  sabbath  had  come.  The  women, 
accordingly,  had  gone  away  weeping,  and  had 
agreed  to  meet  very  early  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  —  as  we  say,  on  Sunday,  —  to  finish 
the  embalming.  So  on  the  sabbath,  which  we 
call  Saturday,  they  sat  still,  thinking  and  talk- 
ing and  crying ;  and  on  Sunday  morning,  as 
the  day  began  to  dawn,  they  started  from  the 
city  to  go  to  the  garden  where  the  Lord  was 
buried. 

It  was  a  day  in  spring,  and  the  shadows  of 
the  night  still  lay  upon  the  world.  The  women 
could  but  dimly  see  the  way  before  them. 
There  were  deeper  shadows  in  their  hearts. 


376  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

As  they  came  near  to  the  garden,  one  of  them 
said,  "The  stone!  the  great  stone  which 
Joseph  and  Nicodemus  rolled  before  the  mouth 
of  the  cave :  how  shall  we  roll  it  away  ? " 
They  were  all  much  troubled  about  it.  But 
as  they  entered  the  garden  and  came  in  sight 
of  the  place,  behold,  the  stone  was  rolled  away. 
They  knew  not  what  to  think.  Who  had  done 
this  thing  ?  There  was  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
black  and  open  in  the  dun  light.  They  came 
near,  trembling  and  afraid,  and  looked  in ; 
and  the  tomb  was  empty.  They  said  one  to 
another,  "  They  have  taken  away  our  Lord." 
But  who  had  taken  the  body  away,  or  where 
they  had  laid  it,  they  could  not  imagine.  The 
tomb  was  empty ;  that  was  plain.  They  said, 
"  We  must  go  at  once  and  tell  the  disciples." 
But  as  they  turned  to  go,  they  became  aware 
of  two  men  in  long,  white,  shining  garments ; 
and  the  women,  when  they  saw  them,  fell  down 
upon  their  faces  in  great  fear.  But  the  men 
said,  "  Why  seek  ye  the  living  among  the  dead. 
He  is  not  here  ;  but  is  risen.  Remember  how 
he  spake  unto  you  when  he  was  yet  in  Galilee, 


THE  EMPTY  TOMB  377 

saying,  (  The  Son  of  man  must  be  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  sinful  men,  and  be  crucified, 
and  the  third  day  rise  again.' '  And  they  re- 
membered his  words.  He  had  told  them  that 
he  would  rise  again,  but  they  had  not  under- 
stood. They  had  not  thought  of  such  a  rising 
as  this.  "  The  Lord  is  risen,"  said  the  man  in 
white,  "  he  is  alive  for  evermore."  With  this 
wonderful  news  the  women  hurried  back  to 
the  city.  The  shadows  were  gone,  the  sun  was 
shining,  the  sky  was  bright,  and  all  the  birds 
were  singing.  The  women  ran  along  the  road 
in  fear,  and  joy,  and  great  amazement. 

Thus  they  came  to  the  apostles'  lodging  and 
knocked  upon  the  door.  "  The  tomb,"  they 
cried,  "  is  empty.  The  great  stone  is  rolled 
away  and  the  body  is  not  there.  And  we  saw  a 
vision  of  angels  which  told  us  that  he  who  was 
dead  is  now  alive."  But  the  apostles  did  not 
believe  it.  It  might,  indeed,  be  true  that  the 
tomb  was  empty  :  they  believed  that.  But  they 
paid  no  attention  to  what  the  women  said  about 
the  angels.  "  You  imagined  it,"  they  said : 
"  there  were  no  angels.  That  is  an  idle  tale." 


378  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

Nevertheless,  they  saw  that  the  story  of  the 
women  called  them  at  once  to  examine  the 
tomb,  and  two  of  them,  Peter  and  John, 
started  together  for  the  garden.  They  ran 
both  together,  but  John,  probably  because  he 
was  the  younger,  left  Peter  far  behind,  and 
came  first  to  the  sepulchre.  He  stooped  down 
and  looked  in.  The  tomb  was  empty  indeed : 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  except  the  linen  which 
had  been  wrapped  about  the  body.  Then  came 
Peter,  breathing  hard  from  running,  and  went 
into  the  sepulchre.  Perhaps  the  body  had 
been  laid  in  some  deeper  recess  of  the  cave. 
No,  the  tomb  was  empty.  There  on  the  ground 
lay  the  linen  clothes,  but  the  napkin  which 
had  been  about  his  head  was  not  lying  with 
the  linen  clothes,  but  was  wrapped  together 
in  a  place  by  itself.  There  was  no  sign  of 
violence  or  of  haste.  It  did  not  look  as  if  the 
grave  had  been  robbed.  But  the  grave  was 
empty.  John  went  in,  and  was  as  perplexed 
as  Peter.  So  they  went  back  to  their  own 
home,  walking  slowly,  with  their  eyes  upon  the 
ground,  thinking  and  wondering. 


X 

THE  KING  WALKS  WITH  TWO 
DISCIPLES 

ALL  day  the  disciples  had  been  perplexed  with 
rumors.  Now  somebody  said  that  the  women 
had  seen  not  only  an  angel,  but  the  Lord  him- 
self. Jesus  met  them,  saying  "All  hail!" 
and  they  came  and  held  him  by  the  feet  and 
worshiped  him.  Then  somebody  else  said 
that  there  had  been  an  earthquake  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night,  and  that  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  had  descended  from  heaven  and  rolled 
back  the  stone  from  the  door  and  sat  upon  it. 
The  women  had  seen  him,  and  his  face  was 
like  lightning  and  his  raiment  white  as 
snow. 

Presently  it  was  reported  that  Mary  Mag- 
dalene had  seen  the  Lord.  Mary  was  stand- 
ing by  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  weeping,  and 
as  she  wept  she  stooped  down  and  looked  into 
the  sepulchre,  and  there  were  two  angels  sit- 
ting, the  one  at  the  head  and  the  other  at  the 


380  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

feet  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain.  And 
they  said,  "  Why  do  you  weep  ? "  and  she 
answered,  "Because  they  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
him."  And  when  she  had  thus  said  she  turned 
back,  and  saw  Jesus  standing,  and  knew  not 
that  it  was  Jesus.  Jesus  said,  "  Why  do  you 
weep  ?  Whom  do  you  seek  ?  "  She  supposed 
that  it  was  the  gardener.  The  morning  was 
still  dark  and  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 
"  Sir,"  she  said,  speaking  to  the  gardener,  "  if 
thou  hast  borne  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou 
hast  laid  him,  and  I  will  take  him  away." 
Jesus  said,  "  Mary."  She  turned  and  recog- 
nized him,  and  cried  "  My  Master !  "  And 
Jesus  told  her  not  to  touch  him,  but  to  go 
and  tell  his  brethren,  the  disciples.  So  she 
went  in  haste  and  told  them  as  they  mourned 
and  wept.  "  He  is  alive,"  she  said.  "  I  have 
seen  him  with  my  eyes."  But  even  then  they 
did  not  believe. 

That  afternoon  two  men,  one  of  whom  was 
named  Cleopas,  took  a  long  walk.  They  lived 
in  a  village  called  Emmaus,  half  a  dozen  miles 


THE  KING  WALKS  WITH  DISCIPLES    381 

out  of  Jerusalem.  They  had  been  in  the  city 
over  the  sabbath  and  were  returning  home. 
They  may  have  stood  beside  the  cross ;  they 
may  have  spent  the  day  with  the  disciples ;  all 
that  we  know  is  that  they  had  been  friends 
and  followers  of  our  Lord.  And  as  they  went 
they  talked  together  of  all  these  things  that 
had  happened.  The  sun,  which  had  been 
shrouded  in  darkness  on  Friday,  was  now  shin- 
ing brightly,  and  all  the  spring  birds  were 
singing  Easter  carols  in  the  green  trees,  and 
Easter  flowers  were  shining  all  along  beside 
the  road.  It  was  a  beautiful,  glad  day.  But 
the  two  men  did  not  see  the  sun ;  they  did 
not  hear  the  birds ;  as  for  the  buds  and  blos- 
soms, they  might  have  been  briers  and  bram- 
bles, the  men  would  not  have  known  the 
difference.  For  do  you  know  what  they  were 
doing  as  they  walked  between  the  pleasant 
fields  ?  They  were  both  crying.  These  grown 
men  were  crying  as  they  went  so  that  every- 
body who  passed  them  on  the  way  noticed 
them.  People  stopped  to  look  after  them  and 
said :  "  What  has  happened  ?  Have  they  had 


382  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

bad  news  ?    Are  they  returning  from  a  fune- 
ral?  Why  do  they  cry?" 

At  last,  as  they  came  into  the  country,  and 
the  city  was  out  of  sight  behind  them,  one  of 
the  passers-by  spoke  to  them.  "  What  are  you 
talking  about  ?  "  he  said,  "  as  ye  walk  and  are 
sad  ?  "  And  Cleopas  answered,  "  You  must  be 
a  stranger  in  Jerusalem.  You  must  have  come 
to  the  Passover  from  a  long  way  off,  or  you 
would  not  ask.  Do  you  not  know  the  things 
that  are  come  to  pass  then  in  these  days  ? " 
And  he  said,  "  What  things  ?  "  And  they  said, 
"  Concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  was  a 
prophet  mighty  in  deed  and  word  before  God 
and  all  the  people :  and  how  the  chief  priests 
and  our  rulers  delivered  him  to  be  condemned 
to  death,  and  have  crucified  him.  We  believed 
in  him  with  all  our  hearts.  We  thought  that 
he  was  the  Christ,  the  deliverer  of  Israel. 
But  he  died  and  was  buried.  That  was  three 
days  ago.  There  have  been  strange  things 
said  to-day.  Certain  women  of  our  company 
went  out  very  early  this  morning  to  the  sepul- 
chre and  found  it  empty.  They  came  back 


THE  KING  WALKS  WITH  DISCIPLES    383 

declaring  that  they  had  seen  a  vision  of  angels 
which  said  that  he  was  alive.  But  when  some 
of  the  men  went  they  found  only  the  empty 
tomb.  They  saw  no  angels,  neither  did  they 
see  the  Lord.  He  was  crucified  and  dead  and 
buried,  and  his  body  has  been  taken  away. 
That  is  all  that  we  know.  Do  you  wonder 
that  we  go  home  crying  as  we  go  ?  " 

As  they  spoke  the  stranger  walked  beside 
them,  and  when  the  tears  came  again  into 
their  eyes  and  voices,  he  said,  "  Have  you  not 
read  the  Bible  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  the 
Christ  must  suffer  all  these  things  ?  What  is 
meant  by  the  psalm  where  it  is  written,  l  They 
pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet  ? '  What  is 
meant  by  the  chapter  in  Isaiah  where  it  is 
written,  '  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men, 
a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he 
was  bruised  for  our  iniquities :  the  chastise- 
ment of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed  ?'  "  The  words  which 
he  said,  and  the  voice  in  which  he  spoke,  im- 
pressed them  deeply.  "  You  thought,"  he 


384  WHEN   THE  KING  CAME 

said,  "  that  Jesus  could  not  be  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  because  he  died  upon  the  cross. 
But  you  see  that  holy  men  of  old  time,  look- 
ing forward  to  the  time  of  Christ,  saw  that  he 
must  be  put  to  death.  It  has  all  happened  as 
the  prophets  said.  Yes,  and  more  also  :  Christ 
dies,  but  he  rises  again  from  the  dead."  Their 
hearts  glowed  within  them  as  he  spoke. 

So  they  drew  near  to  the  village  where  they 
lived,  and  as  they  came  to  a  parting  of  the 
ways  he  made  as  though  he  would  have  gone 
farther,  but  they  urged  him,  saying,  "  Abide 
with  us ;  for  it  is  towards  evening,  and  the 
day  is  far  spent."  And  he  went  in  to  tarry 
with  them.  And  it  came  time  for  supper,  and 
they  sat  down  together,  Cleopas  and  his  friend, 
and  the  women  and  the  little  children  of  the 
family,  and  the  stranger.  They  asked  the 
stranger  to  say  the  blessing.  And  as  he  said 
it  he  took  bread  and  brake  it  and  gave  to  them. 
And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew 
him.  It  was  the  Lord  himself  !  And  he  van- 
ished out  of  their  sight. 

Then  they  rose  up  immediately  and  hastened 


THE  KING  WALKS  WITH  DISCIPLES    385 

back  to  Jerusalem,  but  there  were  no  more 
tears  in  their  eyes  as  they  ran  along  the  road. 
That  night  the  disciples  were  together  with 
the  doors  fast  shut,  for  they  were  still  afraid 
of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Only  ten  of 
them  were  present,  for  Judas  was  dead,  and 
Thomas  was  so  overcome  with  grief  and  dis- 
appointment that  he  stayed  by  himself,  think- 
ing his  own  thoughts,  asking  only  to  be  left 
alone.  The  ten  were  sitting  at  the  table,  hav- 
ing finished  their  supper.  There  was  still  some 
fish  on  the  table,  and  some  honey  in  the  comb. 
Peter  was  talking  excitedly.  "  I  have  seen 
him,"  he  was  saying.  "  He  came  and  spoke  to 
me.  He  is  alive."  Then  there  was  a  sound  of 
hurrying  steps  upon  the  stairs,  and  a  quick 
knock  at  the  door,  and  when  one  said,  "  Who 
is  it  ?  what  do  you  want  ?  "  a  voice  said,  "  This 
is  Cleopas  of  Emmaus,  with  great  news.  Open 
the  door."  Cleopas  and  his  friend  were  ad- 
mitted, and  the  door  was  locked  again.  And 
they  told  what  things  were  done  in  the  way, 
and  how  he  was  known  of  them  in  breaking 
of  bread. 


386  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

And  as  they  thus  spake,  —  Cleopas  telling 
his  story,  and  the  ten  crying,  "  He  is  risen  in- 
deed and  hath  appeared  to  Peter,"  —  Jesus 
himself  stood  in  the  midst.  The  doors  were 
shut,  and  stayed  shut.  He  had  not  entered  by 
the  doors.  He  appeared,  as  he  had  vanished 
at  Emmaus,  suddenly,  out  of  the  air.  "  Peace 
be  unto  you,"  he  said.  But  they  were  terrified 
and  affrighted,  supposing  that  they  had  seen  a 
spirit.  And  he  showed  them  his  hands  and 
his  feet,  with  the  marks  of  the  nails,  and  tak- 
ing fish  and  honey  ate  before  them  to  make 
them  know  then  that  it  was  indeed  himself. 
"  Peace  be  unto  you,"  he  said  again ;  "  as  my 
Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you." 
There  he  stood,  in  their  sight,  the  risen  Lord. 
He  who  had  died  was  now  alive. 


XI 

THE   VISION   OF   THE   SEVEN   FISHER- 
MEN 

OUR  Lord  had  now  shown  himself  alive  to 
most  of  the  apostles,  and  to  a  few  others.  They 
were  all  able  to  say  that  they  had  seen  him 
face  to  face.  But  there  were  two  who  would 
not  believe,  even  on  the  word  of  all  these  hon- 
est persons. 

One  of  these  unbelievers  was  James,  our 
Lord's  brother.  James  had  never  believed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God.  He  believed,  in- 
deed, that  the  King  would  come,  the  King  of 
Glory,  but  that  his  own  brother  with  whom 
he  had  played  as  a  boy  was  the  King  of  Glory 
seemed  to  him  impossible.  James  had  not  ap- 
peared when  Jesus  left  the  carpenter's  bench 
and  began  to  preach.  At  one  time,  he  had 
convinced  himself  and  his  brothers  that  Jesus 
was  out  of  his  right  mind,  and  they  had  gone 
to  bring  him  back.  None  of  his  brothers  be- 
lieved. They  all  loved  him :  we  may  be  sure 


iMvi&L  Oi 


388  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

of  that.  But  their  love  did  not  make  them  his 
disciples.  All  this  must  have  grieved  our  Lord. 
He  must  often  have  remembered  his  unbeliev- 
ing family  in  the  midst  of  his  new  friends. 
And  now  that  he  had  come  back  out  of  the 
grave,  one  of  the  first  persons  whom  he  sought 
was  James.  What  he  said,  and  what  James 
answered,  we  know  not ;  but  after  that  our 
Lord's  brothers  were  always  found  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  disciples. 

The  other  unbeliever  was  Thomas.  He  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  gloomy  way  of  thinking, 
and  was  always  sure  that  things  would  turn 
out  for  the  worse  instead  of  for  the  better. 
"  Let  us  go  with  him,"  he  said  once,  "  that 
we  may  die  with  him."  Thomas  had  seen  our 
Lord  upon  the  cross,  and  he  could  think  of 
nothing  but  the  nails  in  his  hands  and  feet 
and  the  gash  of  the  spear  in  his  side.  The  two 
came  and  said,  "  Thomas,  last  night  at  supper 
while  you  were  away  we  saw  the  Lord.  He 
came  into  the  room  where  we  were  and  blessed 
us."  Thomas  answered,  "  I  know  that  you  all 
think  so,  but  it  is  something  which  I  cannot 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVEN  FISHERMEN    389 

possibly  believe  on  any  evidence  except  that 
of  my  own  senses.  Except  I  shall  see  in  his 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger 
into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand 
into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe."  So  the  days 
went  on  till  Sunday  came  again  ;  and  that  even- 
ing as  they  sat  together,  and  Thomas  with 
them,  still  having  the  doors  tight  shut,  again 
came  Jesus,  and  appeared  of  a  sudden  in  the 
midst  of  them,  saying  as  before,  "  Peace  be 
unto  you."  Then  he  said  to  Thomas,  "  Reach 
hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ;  and 
reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my 
side;  and  be  not  faithless  but  believing." 
And  Thomas  tried  the  tests.  Down  he  fell 
upon  his  face,  crying,  "My  Lord  and  my 
God."  And  Jesus  said,  "  Thomas,  because 
thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  believed ;  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  be- 
lieved." 

Sometimes  even  those  who  saw  him  did  not 
believe ;  for  though  he  was  the  same  friend 
and  master  who  had  died  upon  the  cross,  and 
had  in  his  body  the  marks  of  his  suffering, 


390  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

yet  he  was  mysteriously  different.  Two  disci- 
ples could  walk  with  him  and  hear  him  talk 
and  yet  have  no  idea  who  he  was.  He  appeared 
and  vanished.  He  lived,  but  the  new  life  was 
not  a  continuation  of  the  old.  He  did  not 
come  back  as  Lazarus  did,  having  the  body  of 
our  common  human  nature.  He  had  now,  as 
St.  Paul  says,  a  spiritual  body.  Though  when 
we  say  that,  we  are  not  much  wiser  than  we 
were  before,  for  we  do  not  know  what  a  spir- 
itual body  is. 

At  last  there  came  a  time  when  days  and 
days  passed  by  without  a  sight  of  him.  Even 
on  Sunday,  which  they  were  beginning  to  call 
the  Lord's  day,  he  did  not  visit  them.  When 
he  would  come  again,  they  did  not  know ;  and 
he  had  given  them  no  directions.  They  knew 
not  what  to  think  or  what  to  do.  One  day, 
Peter  and  Thomas,  and  Nathaniel,  and  James 
and  John,  and  two  others,  all  fishermen,  were 
talking  together,  and  Peter  said,  "  I  am  going 
a-fishing."  The  others  answered,  "  We  also 
will  go  with  thee."  They  could  not  bear  to  be 
idle ;  they  would  return  to  their  old  trade.  So 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVEN  FISHERMEN    391 

they  got  into  a  boat  and  went  out  upon  the 
lake,  as  they  had  done  so  many  times  before, 
and  fished  all  night  with  a  torch  in  the  stern 
of  the  boat  to  attract  the  fish.  But  they 
caught  nothing.  And  it  began  to  be  morn- 
ing. A  faint  light  appeared  in  the  east,  the 
•water  changed  from  black  to  gray,  and  a  dim 
line  of  shore  appeared. 

And  on  the  shore  somebody  stood  and 
called.  "  Boys,"  he  cried,  as  one  says  to  fish- 
ermen, "have  you  caught  anything ?"  They 
answered,  "  No."  He  said,  "  Cast  the  net  on 
the  right  side  of  the  boat."  So  they  cast  the 
net  on  the  right  side  of  the  boat,  and  so  many 
fish  came  into  it  that  they  could  not  pull  it 
over  the  side.  Immediately  John  said,  "  It  is 
the  Lord."  And  Peter,  when  he  heard  that, 
fastened  his  coat  about  him  and  jumped  into 
the  water,  and  so  swam  ashore.  The  others 
rowed  the  boat,  dragging  the  net  with  fishes. 
As  soon,  then,  as  they  were  come  to  land  they 
saw  a  fire  of  coals  burning  on  the  shore,  and  fish 
laid  upon  it,  and  bread,  and  the  stranger  stand- 
ing beside  it.  The  stranger  said,  "  Bring  some 


392  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

of  the  fish  which  you  have  caught."  Peter 
went  to  help  and  they  drew  the  net  to  land, 
and  counted  the  great  fishes,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  and  three;  and  for  all  there  were  so 
many,  yet  was  the  net  not  broken.  The  stran- 
ger then  invited  them  to  breakfast.  "  Come," 
he  said,  "  and  eat  of  the  meal  which  I  have 
prepared,"  and  he  gave  them  bread  and  fish. 

All  this  time  they  looked  at  him,  and  at  one 
another,  and  then  back  at  him.  He  seemed 
a  very  friendly  stranger.  There  was  some- 
thing familiar,  too,  about  him,  stranger  though 
he  was.  Indeed,  they  all  knew  that  he  who 
stood  beside  the  fire  and  fed  them  was  the 
Lord  himself.  But  was  it  the  Lord,  indeed  ? 
They  wished  to  say,  "  Who  are  you  ? "  but 
they  dared  not  ask  the  question.  It  was  the 
Lord,  but  they  did  not  know  him  as  they 
would  have  known  Andrew  or  Matthew.  They 
recognized  him  with  their  hearts  rather  than 
with  their  eyes. 

So  they  breakfasted  together  on  the  sand. 
And  after  they  had  eaten,  the  Lord  turned  to 
Peter.  "  Simon,"  he  said,  calling  him  by  his 


VISION  OF  THE  SEVEN  FISHERMEN    393 

other  name,  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest 
thou  me  more  than  these?"  "Yes,  Lord," 
said  Peter,  "  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee." 
But  he  did  not  claim  to  be  a  better  lover  than 
the  others :  he  had  learned  the  hard  lesson  of 
humility.  The  Lord  said,  "  Feed  my  Lambs." 
The  fisherman  was  to  be  a  shepherd;  the 
lambs  which  he  was  to  feed  were  to  be  the  lit- 
tle children  of  the  flock  of  Christ.  He  was  to 
show  his  love  by  his  great  care  for  them. 

Then  the  Lord  said  a  second  and  a  third 
time,  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  ?  " 
And  when  Peter  again  assured  him  of  his  love, 
he  answered,  "  Feed  my  sheep."  Thus  Peter, 
who  had  three  times  denied  his  master,  spoke 
now  these  three  times  to  tell  him  that  he  truly 
loved  him. 


SI AifiNOKMAL  SCHOOL, 
ttos 


XII 
THE  KING  RETURNS  TO  HEAVEN 

So  forty  days  passed  by.  Some  of  them  were 
days  of  wonder,  when  the  Lord  came  and 
talked  with  the  disciples.  Others  were  days 
of  expectation,  when  the  disciples  waited  and 
he  did  not  come.  Indeed,  they  knew  not  at 
what  moment  or  in  what  place  he  might  ap- 
pear. Now  he  was  suddenly  present  with  them 
in  Judea,  then  in  Galilee.  Sometimes  one  of 
them  walking  by  the  lake  or  going  to  pray  in 
the  silence  of  the  hills,  would  find  the  Lord 
standing  beside  him.  On  one  occasion  he 
made  himself  known  to  more  than  five  hun- 
dred disciples  at  once,  most  of  whom  were  still 
living  when  St.  Paul  was  writing  his  epistles. 
One  purpose  of  these  appearances  was  to 
make  them  certain  that  he  who  had  died  upon 
the  cross  had  come  to  life  again.  They  saw 
him  face  to  face,  and  heard  him  speak.  Thus 
they  knew  beyond  all  doubt  that  he  was  in- 
deed the  Son  of  God.  He  who  had  lived  so 


THE  KING  RETURNS  TO  HEAVEN    395 

many  quiet  years  at  Nazareth,  and  had  been  a 
carpenter  there,  earning  his  bread  like  other 
men ;  he  who  had  gone  out  preaching  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  had  taken  them  with 
him,  treating  them  as  dear,  familiar  friends ; 
he  whom  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  had 
hated  and  had  brought  at  last  to  the  death  of 
the  cross,  —  he  was  the  Son  of  God.  He  was 
the  Word  of  God ;  that  is,  by  him  God  spoke. 
And  the  Word  was  God.  In  him,  their  friend, 
God  dwelt  here  on  earth.  They  had  not  un- 
derstood it.  When  his  enemies  had  seized  him, 
his  disciples  had  forsaken  him  and  fled.  But 
now,  seeing  that  death  had  no  dominion  over 
him,  they  cried  with  Thomas,  "  My  Lord  and 
my  God." 

Another  purpose  of  the  appearances  was  to 
assure  them  that  death  is  not  the  end.  It  seems 
the  end.  The  body  dies,  and  so  far  as  we  can 
see,  the  soul  dies  with  it.  There  is  no  voice 
nor  answer  after  that.  What  we  need  is  a 
clear  word  from  beyond  the  grave.  We  want 
somebody  to  come  back  and  tell  us.  Christ 
came  back,  declaring  that  death  is  not  a  wall 


396  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

but  a  door.    After  we  die  we  shall  live  again ; 

lie  said,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also." 

Then  he  gave  his  disciples  their  last  in- 
structions. They  were  to  go  now  and  teach 
what  he  had  taught  them.  What  they  had 
heard  in  secret,  they  were  to  proclaim 
openly.  Those  who  received  the  teaching 
and  believed,  and  desired  to  live  in  the  new 
way,  they  were  to  baptize.  Thus  they  were  to 
initiate  them  into  a  new  society.  He  had  al- 
ready told  them  how  they  were  to  break  bread 
and  eat  it,  and  to  pour  wine  and  drink  it,  in 
remembrance  of  him.  This  they  were  to  do  at 
the  meetings  of  the  new  society. 

One  day  he  took  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany. 
They  went  again  over  the  familiar  way,  out  of 
the  Jerusalem  gate,  into  the  valley  which  had 
been  to  them  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  past  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  at  whose 
gate  they  had  deserted  him,  and  up  the  ascent 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  palm  branches 
still  lay  withered  by  the  side  of  the  road.  Men 
who  met  them  saw  eleven  disciples.  The  Mas- 
ter, in  the  midst  of  them,  they  saw  not.  Only 


THE  KING   RETURNS  TO  HEAVEN    397 

the  disciples,  who  had  the  clear  vision  of  faith, 
saw  him.  They  knew  now  the  answer  to  the 
question  which  one  of  them  had  asked,  "  Lord, 
how  is  it  that  thou  wilt  manifest  thyself  to  us, 
and  not  unto  the  world?" 

But  there  was  one  matter  which  still  per- 
plexed them.  The  kingdom  of  God  which 
they  had  so  long  expected,  and  of  which  the 
Lord  had  said  so  much,  when  and  how  was  it 
to  come  ?  Even  now  they  could  not  get  rid  of 
the  old  notion  of  a  kingdom  with  a  palace  and 
a  throne,  and  a  place  of  power  among  the  na- 
tions. So  they  asked  him  as  they  went,  "  Lord, 
wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  king- 
dom to  Israel  ?  "  And  he  answered,  "  The 
time  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Father,  and  it  is  not 
for  you  to  know  it.  But  the  Kingdom  is  in 
your  own  hearts  and  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  shall  receive  your  words.  You  shall  be 
the  founders  of  it.  You  who  to-day  are  poor, 
and  unknown  in  the  great  world,  and  hated 
by  many  men,  shall  be  given  power  from  on 
high,  the  power  of  goodness,  and  of  love,  and 
of  the  grace  of  God.  You  shall  be  witnesses 


398  WHEN  THE  KING  CAME 

unto  me,  telling  how  I  came,  the  Son  of  God, 
from  heaven,  to  give  men  life  here  and  here- 
after, teaching  them  to  live  as  I  have  com- 
manded you,  showing  my  spirit  in  your  lives. 
And  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world." 

When  he  had  spoken  these  things,  raising 
his  hands  over  his  disciples  in  farewell  and 
blessing,  while  they  beheld,  he  was  taken  up, 
and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight. 
And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward 
heaven,  as  he  went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood 
by  them  in  white  apparel,  saying,  "  Ye  men  of 
Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven? 
This  same  Jesus  which  is  taken  up  from  you 
into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as 
ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  And  the 
disciples  remembered  the  saying,  "  A  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me ;  and  again,  a 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me,  because  I  go 
to  the  Father."  They  began  to  understand  it. 
They  began  to  see  that  the  Lord  had  appeared 
and  disappeared  during  the  forty  days  to  teach 
them  to  expect  him  always  and  everywhere. 


THE  KING  RETURNS  TO  HEAVEN    399 

Into  the  cloud  he  went,  and  out  of  the  cloud 
he  comes,  the  cloud  of  human  need.  They  fell 
upon  their  faces  and  worshiped  the  King  of 
Glory.  Their  hearts  were  full  of  faith  and 
love  and  joy.  He  had  gone  away  out  of  sight 
only  to  return  invisible  and  to  abide  with  them 
and  with  us  all  forever. 


-"'•  -r - 


A     000  602  887     2 


